Joel Osteen's website
If anybody would like to go out to Joel Osteen's website the link is above. He takes a lot of heat for his positive message but makes a lot of sense! The old way of thinking that we must feel bad about ourselves and endure much suffering so we can truly know Christ is one that is hard to understand and accept for many people which may be why so many people are flocking (and sending him money!) to hear his positive, renewed spirit that he backs up with scripture at every step.
Psalms 139:14
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
5 comments:
Thanks, Frank. I totally agree with you. Many people feel that it is not safe to be happy. I was one of them not too long ago. I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it robbed me of my joy. Now I believe that it is "safe" to be happy. I feel good about this online study. It will be a glorious adventurous journey. "And they said to him, 'Inquire of God, we pray thee, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.' The priest said unto him, 'Go in peace; your way in which you are going has the LORD's approval.'" Judges 18:5,6. Join us in this adventure. Enlarge your vision. What is your vision? I've been thinking about that for awhile, and I think that my vision is not a material one at this point. I think my vision is to achieve peace of mind. Most of the time, I do feel peaceful. In one of our bible studies, we read HAVING A MARY HEART IN A MARTHA WORLD. It really helped me to give up worry. We even kept a worry notebook in which we could write our worries. One of my techniques for keeping worry at bay is to stay present and w/o thinking forward or backward. I can handle the present. However, the past is gone and the future is not here so the Lord only asks me to deal with the present moment. I can do that!!
Well, it's time to start the online bible study. I love the first chapter of Joel Osteen's book Your Best Life Now. He says that the first step to living at my full potential is to enlarge my vision. To live my best life now, I must start looking at life through the eyes of faith, seeing myself rise to new levels. See my family prosper. See my dreams come to pass. Even though, we can't believe for someone else, I do visualize my family as healthy, well, and prospering. Jesus says, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible." Mark 9:23. To conceive it, I must have an image on the inside of the life I want on the outside.
I really like Joel's message. It is very positive which can be a stark contrast to the world and our lives. I admit, sometimes I wonder if the guy has ever had anything really bad happen in his life and if he was still so smiley and cheerful through it. However, his message is so great and the reason I believe it is in such stark contrast to the world is that it is truly annointed by the Holy Spirit-- the one sent to guide us, comfort us, and remind us of everything Jesus taught us.
r4c, thank you so much for blogging. I've been in AR for the past week so I'm a little behind on this. I'm really excited about our study, though, and I found out that Holly has a study guide to the book. She hasn't registered as a blogger yet, but she intends to do so soon. I think that will be wonderful b/c not only does she often provide insightful comments, but the study guide will probably help with questions and assignments. As for your comment about whether Joel has been through any really difficult times, I think that is a legitimate concern. I know he lost his father and that he is a controversial figure in the Christian world, handling lots of criticism. However, I don't think that compares with losing one's spouse or something as tragic as that. You make an interesting point.
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