WHAT IS THIS?Wake-Up Call is a daily encouragement to shake off the slumber of our busy lives and turn our eyes toward Jesus. Each morning our community gathers around a Scripture, a reflection, a prayer, and a few short questions, inviting us to reorient our lives around the love of Jesus that transforms our hearts, homes, churches, and cities.
Comments and Discussion
4 Responses
I agree fully that the so-called Word of Faith/ prosperity gospel/name it and claim it, false doctrines are a dangerous way that Satan has seduced the faithful. It can easily be refuted by sharing what St. John wrote in his first epistle, chapter 2:15-17, where he warns the Church not to lust after the things of this world. It’s clearly a false gospel. But in my opinion, this recent hermeneutic that allows scriptures to be twisted in an effort to show that God now celebrates what had been interpreted previously for several millennium as sin, is even more damaging to the goal of humanity’s restoration into the full image of God. Clearly, Satan’s goal of trying to mislead, divide or destroy Christ’s Church, is an ongoing battle. And if we, the called out people of God expect to overcome in this battle for the souls of humanity, we’ll have to embrace, proclaim, and demonstrate the Kingdom of God. Therefore, doctrine of the Priesthood of all believers must be given more than lip-service. Dependance on the clergy caste alone, just won’t cut it.
JD: Verse 11 says: “This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” It doesn’t say that all the Jews and Greeks became believers. Indeed, verse 9 says: “Some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way.”
Therefore, your statement, “Note these Jews and Greeks were believers in Jesus,” seems inaccurate. They all “heard the word of the Lord,” and many believed but many didn’t.
In the Gospels, Jesus warned His followers to beware of false prophets. That’s a warning that Christians seem to ignore today. Almost anybody who says he or she is a Christian minister and starts a church or buys radio or TV time (regardless of what they teach) is honored and respected. We know false prophets exist, but we hesitate to point them out because if we do so we will be called judgmental and unloving by both Christians and non-Christians. We need to learn to boldly yet humbly speak the truth in love. JD, today’s Wake-Up Call is a good example of that. Thank you.
I witnessed a small church in Georgia that started with some very dedicated people and my daughter and her husband would work and would go to schools on Sunday and set up equipment for service.They did not hear the words . As time went by they realized on many occasions that the pastor was more of a showman than a true Godly Pastor.
4 Responses
I agree fully that the so-called Word of Faith/ prosperity gospel/name it and claim it, false doctrines are a dangerous way that Satan has seduced the faithful. It can easily be refuted by sharing what St. John wrote in his first epistle, chapter 2:15-17, where he warns the Church not to lust after the things of this world. It’s clearly a false gospel. But in my opinion, this recent hermeneutic that allows scriptures to be twisted in an effort to show that God now celebrates what had been interpreted previously for several millennium as sin, is even more damaging to the goal of humanity’s restoration into the full image of God. Clearly, Satan’s goal of trying to mislead, divide or destroy Christ’s Church, is an ongoing battle. And if we, the called out people of God expect to overcome in this battle for the souls of humanity, we’ll have to embrace, proclaim, and demonstrate the Kingdom of God. Therefore, doctrine of the Priesthood of all believers must be given more than lip-service. Dependance on the clergy caste alone, just won’t cut it.
JD: Verse 11 says: “This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” It doesn’t say that all the Jews and Greeks became believers. Indeed, verse 9 says: “Some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way.”
Therefore, your statement, “Note these Jews and Greeks were believers in Jesus,” seems inaccurate. They all “heard the word of the Lord,” and many believed but many didn’t.
In the Gospels, Jesus warned His followers to beware of false prophets. That’s a warning that Christians seem to ignore today. Almost anybody who says he or she is a Christian minister and starts a church or buys radio or TV time (regardless of what they teach) is honored and respected. We know false prophets exist, but we hesitate to point them out because if we do so we will be called judgmental and unloving by both Christians and non-Christians. We need to learn to boldly yet humbly speak the truth in love. JD, today’s Wake-Up Call is a good example of that. Thank you.
I witnessed a small church in Georgia that started with some very dedicated people and my daughter and her husband would work and would go to schools on Sunday and set up equipment for service.They did not hear the words . As time went by they realized on many occasions that the pastor was more of a showman than a true Godly Pastor.