Voice of the Kingfisher speaks out …from a different perspective
by Elinor Montgomery
September 27, 2013
There is a power forum going on out there, across America. It is called the power of positive thinking based on and rooted in a form of replacement theology, which permeates eastern religious thought. More importantly, it permeates the religion of Christianity, telling us that people are essentially good, and the power is within one to accomplish whatever one sets one’s mind to do.
There is no comprehension of the fact that man actually is suffering from a spiritual disease unto death, so, therefore, he is in need of the cure, which only Jesus can offer. But Jesus is not a popular figure among the non-believers; so they see faith in Him and in God as human weakness. Within this mind-set, the Word becomes irrelevant for today’s lifestyle and business practices, which are increasingly being governed by the power gurus of inherent goodness and inner strength of the mind.
These nation-wide, travelling gurus become our gods, and replacement theology becomes the key to success. We simply are required to co-ordinate mind and hand toward the goal of good works. In the religious world of Christianity, the power preachers are filling the pulpits with forums on how to create the mega church, run by preachers whom the gurus have taught how to fill the role of CEO’s within the institutions. They will zero in on the ‘feel-good’ ministries where the Word of God becomes little more than lessons on living the good life, which prepares one for one’s role in that great Valhalla in the sky. Health, wealth and success by worldly standards become the goal, along with the rewards of a prayer life directed toward the flesh rather than the soul.
The replacement forum offers a moral ‘value-pak’, from which everyone is free to choose. The corollary to all of this is the notion that good people are tolerant people and therefore must embrace the principle of “live and let live!” Christians are finding it increasingly more difficult to embrace the cross, for the Word is quickly taking a back-seat to the power forum of positive thinking about oneself, wherein the power is considered to reside. The terms of “sin” and “spiritual rebirth” are found to be missing from most Christian institutions.
I have heard about a certain priest, of an un-named Christian denomination, having advised a serious young believer to attend his denomination of the faith, but then went on to advise this young person to not take it all too seriously. After all, the Word is merely a collection of nice parables spoken by a nice Man called Jesus. Whether or not He died for mankind was really not the issue with this priest.
What this priest, and many others like him believe is that Jesus was another one of those prophets scattered throughout Bible history, who tended to annoy kings and arouse the people to radical behavior. But it is generally conceded by them that His main purpose in coming to this earth was to teach us how to live the good and moral life of feeding the poor and volunteering to look after the sick. Where else would such good people go, if not to heaven? And, with this form of replacement theology, Christianity is ripening the plum of the institutional church in readiness for the picking by the Antichrist who wants all religions to unite under the rule of the coming One World Order.
Religious activity, in compromise with an unholy lifestyle, apparently presents no obstacle to entrance through the gates of heaven to reside with a holy God ruling over a holy kingdom rooted in truth and never in liberalism or religion. The truth is that man is only viewed as good through the righteousness of Jesus, the only good Man who ever lived. Unfortunately, the institutional church shepherds have been feeding the sheep ‘animal manure’ of this sort for a long time, coming straight from the body of the beast.
God does not teach the positive ‘crap’ of positive thinking, which allows the 75%-plus population of America, called Christians, to live the compromised life of goodness, tolerance and respectability, according to all the honors and rewards this world has to offer. In truth, God says that as the world hated Jesus, it will hate you too; for the true shepherds of the gospel will debunk all such theories about the goodness of mankind.
The Psalms, many of which were written by one of the greatest men of God in all of history, King David, begin with a strong message rooted in the negative. What is said here could hardly fit the ‘positive-thinking’ forum.
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful (Psalm 1:1).
There are only two groups of people in this world. They are either the godly or the ungodly; there is no grouping called ‘the good’. “He who is not with Me is against Me (Matthew 12:30).” If you belong to the group with Him, you will confess Him to be your Savior. You will make the study of His Word your top priority in life and you will dedicate your time and resources to the Lord. The corollary of this is that to not do so will place you among the ungodly, with those who put forth themselves as being good, and take the advice of the Christian priest who advised the young believer to not take the faith too seriously.
You see, the ungodly give old sins new names, with the goal of making sin more acceptable – i.e. a child formed in the womb becomes a fetus and just another piece of disposable flesh; the term homophobia turns the disgust for an abomination into a phobia; to be a patriot of the constitutions makes one guilty of a hate crime. Adultery becomes free love; a liar is merely someone with a big imagination, and a thief is just a financier with an eye for understanding the financial game.
Sin is not to be ignored, as it is by our preachers of the ‘positive-thinking’ forum, who refuse to talk about it from their religious pulpits. It is at the heart of God’s Law, with the Ten Commandments never changing, and that which He labels as sin remains sin, for evermore.
“He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book (Revelation 22:11-19).