I walked three miles this morning -- outside. Halfway through the walk on a downhill slope I came close to falling because there was unexpected ice on the sidewalk beside a tree-lined patch of road. It helps to remember that just because the sun is out and most of the way is well-lit, in some places the ground is still frozen and can be treacherous. I was fortunate. Falling down then and hurting myself would have been a real problem. Thank God for his angels!
I'm walking to keep my spirits up and see if I can lose a few pounds in the process. Being unemployed is the pits. I like to work hard. And I love and need payday! I've applied for numerous jobs, but only a few are copywriting or other writing positions; most have been administrative assistant positions, because I'm great at those, too.
I have to accept something in the next few weeks and have been praying that the posted opportunities would align with my gift of gab/writing/persuasion, but paycheck-to-paycheck employees really can't afford to be too choosy. My "faith muscles" are all being tested, but they have always gotten me through before to a satisfactory conclusion, so I expect they will do it again -- and they'll become even stronger through renewed use!
I attended church events three days this week -- informal gatherings -- but skipped church today because of the subject matter (Miracle Life Sunday -- testimonials and prayers for infertile couples) because it's so similar from year to year. (Always effective, but too similar to keep me alert. A shirt-tail relative who was prone to miscarriages has had two children since I prayed for her and her husband three years ago.) I don't do "re-runs" very well.
Instead of attending church in the flesh, I attended tele-church this morning. I flipped between channels and listened to a broad range of televangelists, stopping whenever a subject I was interested in would compel me to listen a while.
There's an interesting preacher on TV named Dr. Mike Murdoch who is controversial, and I'm not sure I have a solid opinion of him yet, but his writings and preaching all appear reliable to me; that is, all of his proclamations have the ring of biblical truth to them. Each Wisdom Key he mentions can be backed up by scripture.
I have several of Murdoch's books. They sorta drive me nuts because Every Word Is Capitalized As Though Coming From The Very Vocal Chords Of God... and while Murdoch may well be "channeling" God's light, the fact that he Capitalizes Every Word makes me think there's One Gargantuan Ego standing at the pulpit. This is something I've had to forgive a lot of preachers for, though -- the lack of humility -- so it isn't enough to keep me from watching and learning.
He's one of the so-called prosperity preachers. He reminds people of God's promises to those of his children who bring tithes as prescribed in the Bible:
Malachi 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!"
Luke 6:38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. ”
Murdoch asks believers to sow a $1,000 seed into his ministry as a way to "prove" that their faith is sufficient to win God's blessings of a hundred-fold or more increase. I understand that television ministry is enormously expensive and requires frequent infusions of funds to stay on the air. Every television ministry asks for financial support; they can't continue without it.
But Murdoch seems to me to be, in too many ways, akin to Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man, "a by-God spell-binder..." mesmerizing, hypnotic, making the viewer feel as though he or she is "disobeying God" by refusing the suggestion to sow into his ministry. An oft-quoted Murdoch suggestion is "Delayed obedience is disobedience." (The biblical command to tithe is aimed at one's local, brick-and-mortar church or temple, although believers without a local church would be absolutely right to tithe to Murdoch's ministry if that's where they're receiving the bulk of their spiritual nourishment and training.)
In many cases, delayed obedience may be simply a time out for a "discerning of spirits" -- a question to self: "Which spirit is actually beckoning to me: the Spirit of God, or the spirit of greed, lust, desire for more?"
True, much "hesitation" to tithe can be satanic in nature.. but so can strict adherence to skillful mental maneuverings be satanic in nature. (An advertising industry that regularly compels people to "super size" or go see a violent or lust-driven movie is rarely godly!)
I'm not accusing Mike Murdock of being disingenuous. I don't know him; and only God can know what or who truly motivates him. My heart wants to believe he's the real deal and that his "hatred" for poverty extends to everyone who is in poverty... but my head advises "Danger, danger, Will Robinson." I have been dazzled and spellbound before -- by many wrong things and by people who did not have my best interests (or God's) at heart.
I want to believe Murdoch as firmly as I believed in RFK and DeForest Kelley and as firmly as I believe in the goodness of Barack Obama and in the saving grace of Jesus Christ and the Trinity. I do believe that Murdoch is leading souls to Christ, whether it's an actual intention of his or only a sideline "bonus." (Jim Baker did, even though he was eventually disgraced for misusing peoples' tithes and offerings and suffered the consequences. He has since been redeemed. Christians of all stripes and strata are tempted to ego-driven pursuits by the great Tempter.)
Anyway, I will pray that Mike Murdoch's ministry is the real deal. God knows that what Murdoch is telling people can truly revolutionize their lives in ways our Heavenly Father will honor. "God causes all things to work together to the good of those who believe..."
P.S. Disclaimer: I had the same hesitation in believing Pastor Wolfson at my present church until I stayed with it and got to know him better. Any time a preacher is very, very good at what he does and is a showman par excellence besides, I become skeptical and think: "Be wary. This fellow might be a snake oil salesman for all you know -- out to enrich himself by telling you what you want to hear."
It was after I had heard Pastor Wolfson tell me lots of things I didn't want to hear (but needed to) that I began to feel he truly is sold out to God in every way a human soul and spirit can be.
God is using Mike Murdoch. I don't know if He's thrilled with him (I'm not qualified to judge; are any of us? Only God can judge accurately), but he's using him, for sure!
The bottom line is: I believe in Mike Murdoch's God, not in Mike Murdoch.
2 comments:
In response to Kris Smith's comment:
Kris, you are absolutely hitting the nail on the head in saying that you believe in Mike Murdoch's God, not Mike Murdoch and thats where all of his critics are sadly missing the real point. We Pray, we have Faith and Believe God will bestow his abundant Blessings upon our lives when we Sow into his Kingdom, and the fact is, he does. We are sowing into God's Kingdom,not the Kingdom of Mike Murdoch and thats what people need to understand. When you give a Gift of Faith, of your Tithes, then it is Personal, given with the Prayer and Faith that God will meet your need. If its Mike Murdoch or any other Ministry, then 'once it leaves your hand, you should not be concerned if someone will be abusing that Seed because God will surely deal with him, in his own time. What we should be doing is continually believing that God will open his Hand and Release the Blessings he has for us, once we let go of our Seed. Now this may sound strange to many people, however, the level of Faith and absolute Belief is beyond the realm of reality, because Faith is after all, the unseen, untouched. This is very deep and after years of evaluating Mike Murdoch's Ministry methods, including other successful Ministries, I only have one conclusion and that is that our decision and contributions to secure our Blessings is personal between God and us. I have much reason to speak this way because I lost everything a few years ago, I spent my nights and days on my knees, I tithed with the little I got believing God for a Miracle in my life, I was in a country where my hands were tied to save myself, I didnt even have water to drink but trust me, God rescued me and has Blessed me beyond my wildest dreams and he continues to do so and I continue to Sow in Mike and other Ministries believing God to not only break the back of Poverty in my life, but to also be debt free, provide for my family and right now, after 4years, I have more Blessings coming in than I can handle, however I have remained in my stream of Faith and Belief because one can be easily swayed by critics disbelieving comments and my theory is that if these critics have so much time on their hands to investigate Mike and other Ministers like him, why dont they spend their time in Prayer and Faith instead of accusing a Man of God of being a cheater? If he was, dont they think God would deal with him, in his own time, when Mike leasts expects it. Do they think that Mike acquired the genious to write so many inspiring motivational books that spur us all on in our daily lives? Sure, the devil Blesses its own, but not this time, I am sure. Anyone can get riled up in Services to give money, however, we have witnessed Miracles in front of our eyes and there again critics have spent their time to interview so called witnesses accusing some Ministers of being False Prophets? How is this possible when Miracles are performed in front of our eyes for people we personally know who are inflicted with pain, abnormalities etc? One important lesson is we can think what we like, but we cant say what we like, because God is around all the time and he is not sleeping. Its better to stay quiet than blaspheme Gods Messengers. I am a living proof that we believe in Mike Murdochs God, not Mike himself and we need to stop missing the point. God is real, he exists, he sees what we do, he really answers Prayer, but we should stop wasting our time on fruitless excercises,rather concentrate on witnessing our Miracles because he God doesnt stop when he sees our continual Belief and he simply bestows abundant Blessings on our lives. Kris the point I wanted to make is that I came from nothing to owning 2 successful businesses and I have more business today than I can invoice my Clients, you have to trust me on this! May God continue to enrich and Bless your life, and those who are on the same page on this site! Warm Regards, T
T,
This is an ecellent response, n one I never considered before. I'm printing it in itentirety so others can read it.
Thanksso much for responding in the thoughtful way you did.
May God continueto bless you!
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