Presenting ...
... a weekly letter of encouragement.
Singapore
September 26, 1994
Good Morning!
PERSONAL PEACE AND PROSPERITY
According to Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer, peace
and prosperity are the two pre-eminent values of American Christians.
As believers many of us seem to believe God to be the "Omniscient
Bellhop" Who roams heaven, anxiously waiting to respond to
our every whim.
If you doubt your concern over personal peace and prosperity,
analyze the content of your prayers these past two weeks.
What per cent of them focused on your personal well being and
what per cent were spent agonizing over the winning of the lost
or the maturing of the saved?
But did not Jesus promise us PEACE? "...My peace
I give to you...These things I have spoken to you that in Me you
may have peace..." (John 14:27; 16:33)
How then do Jesus' (and Paul's) other statements fit
in with our near obsession for personal well being:
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth...but a sword." (Matthew 10:34)
"We are afflicted in every way...perplexed...struck down...always carrying about in the
body the dying of Jesus...(II Corinthians 4:8-10)
FOLLOWING JESUS MEANS ENTERING SATAN'S TERRITORY
AND ATTACKING HIS STRONGHOLDS. And that may
spell the sacrificing of our personal comfort: Running the risk
of trauma over peace; poverty over prosperity.
If you question this to be true:
Stand up for morality in your neighborhood or at the office. Openly question the rightness
of soft porn or abortion.
Speak out at the office for ethical business practices
that if implemented, introduce the real possibility of cutting
into personal and corporate profits.
Could it be that at the moment we become openly identified with
Christ and His values, we will begin to understand Paul's unsettling
statement, "Indeed, all who desire to live godly
in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
(II Timothy 3:12). Hardly a recipe for personal peace
and prosperity!
Have a great week!
Dwight Hill
© Copyright 1996 Dwight Hill. Unlimited permission to copy or use is hereby granted subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.
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