There are a lot of rambling posts on this site. If you’d like to cut through the drivel and check out what most other folks have been interested in, here are the ones people tend to read the most.
1. The One Thing Christians Should Stop Saying
2. A Handy Guide To Christian Outrage
3. The One Question Every Parent Should Quit Asking
5. An Open letter to M y Daughter on Her First Date
6. Mommy Porn: Fifty Shades of Reality (don’t worry – it’s clean)
7. An Open letter to My Son on His First Day in Kindergarten
8. There’s No Such Thing As The Worthy Poor
The Accidental Missionary 
So thankful for these thoughts as we raise our baby girl.
I just read your post about the need for Christians to stop using the word blessed when they try explain the prosperous things that happen to them in life.
I have to say that you’re absolutely spot on with your argument!
However you made one statement that was absolutely wrong. You said that nowhere in Scripture does it say that prosperity will result from faith or obedience to the Scriptures (my paraphrase). The truth is that the Old Testament is filled with scripture that indicates prosperity and well-being will result from attendance to God’s laws. When the disciples heard Jesus say that it would be harder for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for rich man to get into heaven, they were incredulous! They KNEW that if you were rich and a “faithful Jew” then you were obviously blessed by God.
As Christians, we cannot continue to simply close our eyes and wave our hands and pronounce that the old testament is completely consistent with Jesus’s teachings. It is not. One of the first verses I memorized as a new Christian was Joshua 1:8 … and it is representative of much of Psalms, Proverbs as well as the historical Old Testament books.
This is, of course, contrary to our established fundamentalist Christian view of the “seamless” perfection of all scripture… yet … it is simply undeniable that the Old Testament promises that good things will happen for those who are obedient to God.
I don’t know what else to say.
Dave
I just read your post about the need for Christians to stop using the word blessed when they try explain the prosperous things that happen to them in life.
I have to say that you’re absolutely spot on with your argument!
However you made one statement that was absolutely wrong. You said that nowhere in Scripture does it say that prosperity will result from faith or obedience to the Scriptures (my paraphrase). The truth is that the Old Testament is filled with scripture that indicates prosperity and well-being will result from attendance to God’s laws. When the disciples heard Jesus say that it would be harder for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for rich man to get into heaven, they were incredulous! They KNEW that if you were rich and a “faithful Jew” then you were obviously blessed by God.
As Christians, we cannot continue to simply close our eyes and wave our hands and pronounce that the old testament is completely consistent with Jesus’s teachings. It is not. One of the first verses I memorized as a new Christian was Joshua 1:8 … and it is representative of much of Psalms, Proverbs as well as the historical Old Testament books.
This is, of course, contrary to our established fundamentalist Christian view of the “seamless” perfection of all scripture… yet … it is simply undeniable that the Old Testament promises that good things will happen for those who are obedient to God.
I don’t know what else to say.
Dave
So true… Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and other things shall be added unto thee…As children of the most High, we are not exempted from earthly riches. But our faith, prayers and beliefs do not determine our blessings.
Excellent, thanks! Years ago, someone told me that Jesus came to REPLACE the Mosaic Law. I still believe it and often wonder why some Christians revere the very thinking that denied and crucified the Lord.