WWJOS? (What Would Joel Osteen Say?)
10/03/2007
How does one live a spiritually prosperous life that pleases God? In his mega bestselling book "Your Best Life Now", Joel Osteen says that you need to, "Enlarge Your Vision, Develop a Healthy Self-Image, Discover the Power of Your Thoughts and Words, Let go of the Past, Find Strength Through Adversity, Live to Give, and Choose to Be Happy". As well meaning as Joel Osteen may be, I believe that he's got it wrong. Listen to Psalm 1:1-3:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
Did you catch that last line? In all that he does, he prospers. This is incredible. The secret to living a spiritually prosperous life is before our very eyes. If I want to prosper spiritually, I must be regularly meditating on God's word. This is so simple, yet so profound!
I want to do well spiritually, don't you? I want to have a deep, soul-satisfying relationship with Jesus Christ. I want to overcome my sin. I hate my pride, my anxiety, my fear of man, and my selfishness, and I want to kill it. I want to be faithful to my wife until I die, and to raise my daughter in the fear of the Lord. Point blank, I want to prosper spiritually. But how do I get there? How do I get to this point? By meditating on God's word, day in and day out. By reading my Bible every morning, and memorizing scripture in the shower, and listening to sermons in the car, and reading books written by godly Christians. I must meditate on God's word.
The truth is, I won't grow if I'm not seeking to apply God's word to my life. But the good news is, God wants me to grow. He wants me to prosper spiritually, and to have a deep, vigorous relationship with Him. He doesn't want me to be blown about spiritually. And so He gave me a book, The Book.
Do I treasure The Book? Do I meditate on and memorize The Book? Is The Book precious to me? Take time to consider these questions today. I want to prosper spiritually, and so I want to know The Book.
I want to do well spiritually, don't you? I want to have a deep, soul-satisfying relationship with Jesus Christ. I want to overcome my sin. I hate my pride, my anxiety, my fear of man, and my selfishness, and I want to kill it. I want to be faithful to my wife until I die, and to raise my daughter in the fear of the Lord. Point blank, I want to prosper spiritually. But how do I get there? How do I get to this point? By meditating on God's word, day in and day out. By reading my Bible every morning, and memorizing scripture in the shower, and listening to sermons in the car, and reading books written by godly Christians. I must meditate on God's word.
The truth is, I won't grow if I'm not seeking to apply God's word to my life. But the good news is, God wants me to grow. He wants me to prosper spiritually, and to have a deep, vigorous relationship with Him. He doesn't want me to be blown about spiritually. And so He gave me a book, The Book.
Do I treasure The Book? Do I meditate on and memorize The Book? Is The Book precious to me? Take time to consider these questions today. I want to prosper spiritually, and so I want to know The Book.
1 comments:
E. Huff, et. al.
said...
October 20, 2007 at 8:53 PM
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Hey Stephen,
I do not know if you will even get this, but while reading your WWJOS post I also thought of (among numerous other choices I am sure) Joshua 1:8.
"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."