10/23/2008
1 Chronicles 13:1 - 4 (HCSB) 1David consulted with all his leaders, the commanders of hundreds and of thousands. 2Then he said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if this is from the LORD our God, let us spread out and send the message to the rest of our relatives in all the districts of Israel, including the priests and Levites in their cities with pasturelands, that they should gather together with us. 3Then let us bring back the ark of our God, for we did not inquire of Him in Saul’s days.” 4Since the proposal seemed right to all the people, the whole assembly agreed to do it.
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(We are starting the books of I and II Chronicles. These books parallel I and II Kings, so we will be covering the same history for a brief time while in these books)
Joel Osteen is the pastor of a Lakewood church in Houston, Texas. I have long heard that is message is not consistent with mainstream theology. I wanted to know for myself what Mr. Osteen is saying – to judge for myself the content of his message, rather than rely on rumors and chatter. I picked up his book “Your Best Life Now” and began to read. Within a couple of chapters, I was getting a sense of his message.
Joel Osteen says that in order for you to be successful, healthy, and happy in life, that you first must visualize these things. That if you set your thoughts on what you want, that God will give them to you. I was disappointed that he even used several verses out of context to make his point. One verse, he cut in half, using only a phrase from the verse to make his point. Mr. Osteen says to “set your mind on what is higher”. He implies that if you think of things that are higher than your current state, higher than your current income, higher than your current happiness, that God will give them. But, the actual verse is:
Colossians 3:2 (HCSB) 2Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth.
The second part of the verse clearly indicates that the entire passage is talking about Heavenly objectives -- not about earthly wealth or happiness.
In the verses from I Chronicles, David had been crowned king, Saul had been killed. David met with his advisors and said:
“If it seems good to you and if this is from the Lord our God,”
David was recognized by God as a man after His own heart. If this is true, then shouldn’t we learn from David’s behaviors? David wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem, *but only if it was the will of God.*
So many people today want God to help them fulfill their personal plan, but let me submit to you that what we should be doing is helping God fulfill His plan. Our thoughts should be focused on what God wants. Our desires should be on what will advance God’s kingdom. Our ideas should center on those things that would please our Lord.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to be more financially secure, or healthy, or happy. But these should always be secondary to our focus on God’s plan. God is not our valet to grant our wishes if we just have enough faith. He is our Lord and Master, and we are His servants. He grants to us favor and for this we shall be eternally grateful.
But woe to the one who presumes to tell his master what to do.
Set your mind on things above, NOT on what is on earth.
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
©2008 Cleff Publishing, all rights reserved.
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