Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Joel's Words of Sinspiration


If there was ever any doubt about Joel Osteen's Word of Faith leanings, it should be forever removed with yesterday's inspiring message. Joel was called on to interpret this Scripture:
Fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor. 4:18)
The Osteen interpretation:

The first step in moving forward into a fresh future is forgetting the disappointments of yesterday. No matter what people have done to you, or how unfair life has been, God is able to bring you out stronger than before. God wants the rest of your life to be more blessed than the first part—greater, in fact, than anything you could ever imagine. Unfortunately, too many people quit believing for more when they face tough times. They quit expecting anything good to happen. The truth is, our hardships and trials are really opportunities for us to go higher.

Whatever struggles you're going through right now, no matter how large or small . . . they are subject to change. Nothing may look right in your life today, but it's all subject to change. God is working behind the scenes on your behalf!

A Prayer for Today

God, I feel at peace with my situation knowing You are behind the scenes, preparing a fantastic future for me. I am going to let go of the past and believe for more blessing and abundance in the days to come. In Jesus' Name – Amen.


In sharp contrast, The Expositor's Bible Commentary says that the Apostle Paul
"is affirming that his affections are set 'on things above' (Col. 3:1, 2), on lasting realities as yet unseen, on the age to come that is present in promises and blessings still to be fully realized....This preoccupation with the realm 'where Christ is seated at the right hand of God' (Col. 3:1) was not the result of an arbitrary choice; it was an informed decision. Paul was profoundly aware that the present age is transient (cf. 1 Cor. 7:31), whereas the age to come is eternal in the sense of being 'destined to last for ever,' and that his afflictions were temporary but his reward eternal. (Murray H. Harris, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol. 10, p. 345)
Joel Osteen would have his followers set their eyes on the things of this world, on the here and now; Scripture would have Christians set their eyes on eternal matters. It's a shame Osteen didn't quote the beginning of this chapter:
Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. (2 Cor. 4:1, 2)

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