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Saturday 26 December 2015

Joel Osteen and St. Stephen? Irreconcilable Differences?

The Stoning of Stephen
Today is St. Stephen's Day.

In this blog we are interested in listening as well as talking. Tomorrow I will make a case for thinking about our Christian way of speaking. Today an illustrative question:

"If you can name it, God wants you to claim it."
"God's desire is for you to be prosperous."
"God wants you healthy. God wants you wealthy."
"When you focus on being a blessing, God makes sure that you are always blessed in abundance."

St. Stephen's Day:
Acts 7 "But they covered their ears, shouting out with a loud voice, and rushed at him with one intent. When they had driven him out of the city, they began to stone him ... Then he fell to his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he died."

In the light of Stephen how do we hear Joel Osteen's prosperity, health, wealth, blessing and blessed name it and claim it gospel?

How does St. Stephen's experience end up here?
Does Mark 9:39 make all this ok? "But Jesus said, 'Do not stop him, because no one who does a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to say anything bad about me. For whoever is not against us is for us.'"

Can the "name it and claim it" gospel stand in the face of the biblical witness of Stephen the Martyr?

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