Last week I had 2 interviews in S'pore. I'm pretty satisfied with the first one, based on the requirements and offer. Already had 2nd interview with them, so I have to wait and see whether I'll pass or not. To me it was a miracle because I haven't been recieved any calls from the Lion City for the past 2 months after sending so many resumes and applications. Nevertheless I thank God for His goodness. I began to see how God has started moving things, bit by bit in my life. I guess I've obeyed His orders, and I'm blessed by His works.
Hopefully Christians might have heard of this word blessings many times. You might even heard of people saying "God bless you" or "Shen zhu fu ni" in Mandarin. Basically it's a popular greetings between Christians. Now, I'm not talking about the definition of "blessings" or "blessedness" over here. But I would like to draw out a comparison between the meanings of blessings in the Christians today and blessings that is stated in the bible.
I've realised a big problem about how the church leaders today use this word blessings to their church congregations. Maybe you've heard of this trend which many leaders are using today. It's called "Prosperity Gospel". It's a type of extended gospel which includes blessings in order to attract more non-Christians to get salvation. It works in a way that this gospel is shared, followed by a testimony or two about how God had blessed them (normally related to financial aspect) and lastly the altar call. If you have heard of this gospel, you might be familiar with "God wants to bless you, both physically and financially"; "If you give your life to Christ, you will be blessed even more than what you've blessed today, exceedingly, abundantly!"; "God asked me to give all my money into the offering, and I was blessed with triple the amount by someone after that. Hallelujah!" The problem lies here. Where is the gospel that we should be hearing? "We are all sinners. God forgives!" This is not my main concern in this post. My concern is that people are drawn to the gospel simply because they will be blessed, they can live a better life as a Christian, hoping for better health, "gain more by giving all" and so on.
Is that what God telling us about the meaning of blessedness? Allow me to quote you about what Jesus said regarding to this (in contemporary language).
Hopefully Christians might have heard of this word blessings many times. You might even heard of people saying "God bless you" or "Shen zhu fu ni" in Mandarin. Basically it's a popular greetings between Christians. Now, I'm not talking about the definition of "blessings" or "blessedness" over here. But I would like to draw out a comparison between the meanings of blessings in the Christians today and blessings that is stated in the bible.
I've realised a big problem about how the church leaders today use this word blessings to their church congregations. Maybe you've heard of this trend which many leaders are using today. It's called "Prosperity Gospel". It's a type of extended gospel which includes blessings in order to attract more non-Christians to get salvation. It works in a way that this gospel is shared, followed by a testimony or two about how God had blessed them (normally related to financial aspect) and lastly the altar call. If you have heard of this gospel, you might be familiar with "God wants to bless you, both physically and financially"; "If you give your life to Christ, you will be blessed even more than what you've blessed today, exceedingly, abundantly!"; "God asked me to give all my money into the offering, and I was blessed with triple the amount by someone after that. Hallelujah!" The problem lies here. Where is the gospel that we should be hearing? "We are all sinners. God forgives!" This is not my main concern in this post. My concern is that people are drawn to the gospel simply because they will be blessed, they can live a better life as a Christian, hoping for better health, "gain more by giving all" and so on.
Is that what God telling us about the meaning of blessedness? Allow me to quote you about what Jesus said regarding to this (in contemporary language).
You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
You're blessed when you're content with just who you are -- no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
You're blessed when you get your inside world--your mind and heart--put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.
Count yourself blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. You can be glad when that happens -- give a cheer, even! -- for though they don't like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.
What do you think? Sounds negative? I don't think so. No doubt we will be blessed by Him even more than we could ask for. But He wants us to obey him as children obey their parents. Simple as that. "You will be blessed if you obey me." not "You will be blessed if you make my church grow." If you can obey your pastor's order, why can't you obey God's order? You want to be blessed by God or by your pastor? Are you going for Gold or for God??