READ ALL OF EZEKIEL 34 AND MEDITATE.

You are right beloved Brother's Harry and Colin,

Hardly ever will you hear of or find a church that will preach the LIGHT of the Glorious Gospel of Christ JESUS, which is to repent for the Kingdom is at hand. If they did so they will lose half, if not all their congregation which in turn is their income.

Matthew 16:26 states, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Again in Mark 8:36 it says, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

When you look at prosperity preachers and see what they amassed especially from the backs of the poor and afflicted; you can't help but ask yourself how can they believe that they are truly servants of the LORD?

Did not our Beloved Saviour JESUS say in Mark 6:8 ~ "And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:" He further asked them in Luke 22:35 ~ "And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing."

Yet, you still hear of preachers who are living exorbitantly.

~ Do you remember when the story broke about the Bakkers? They squandered ministry money for things such as spending one hundred dollars on cinnamon buns just to scent the air of their hotel suite. They also equipped a dog house with air-conditioning which later was too noisy for their dog to sleep in and they spent $60 thousand on gold-plated bathroom fixtures.

~ Then there was Jimmy Swaggart whose operation raked in more than $150 million annually. He attracted eight million viewers on his television program alone. His downfall began when he helped defrock fellow Assemblies of GOD minister Marvin Gorman, who had been caught in an extramarital affair. He also went on CNN and told Larry King that Jim Bakker was a "cancer in the body of Christ."

In 1988 Marvin Gorman learned that Swaggart had been spotted regularly in areas frequented by prostitutes and hired a private detective to take photos. He then tried to use them to blackmail Swaggart and when Jimmy refused to sent him a penny, Gorman then forwarded the pictures to the church elders.

~ How about Pat Robertson who owned a two-year-old race horse? A reporter from the New York Times released detailed financial involvement of Robertson to the tune of more than $500K.

Our LORD tells us to "sow ourselves in righteousness and reap in mercy." He tells us, "Not to render evil for evil or railing for railing." Most importantly in Galatians 6:7, 8 ~He tells us, "Be not deceived; GOD is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."

There are still a multitude of preachers today who are living lavishly, a far cry from what our LORD requires of His Servants. They continue to put emphasis on "Christmas and Easter." Some have even sponsored mega "Haunted Houses," and "Valentine Day dance." They do not call for an end to these traditions, rather they endorse it. If they were to preach the True Gospel of JESUS Christ, then their ministry will deteriorate and members will be few and far between.

This is why it's important to place your faith in JESUS alone. We will do well to look up and to Him for HIS Wisdom and guidance. I praise my LORD for He wants nothing from us other than to trust HIM. It brings me great comfort when HE said in Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." I praise HIS Holy Name!

GOD Bless you both for your untiring devotion in loving and serving our LORD! May HE continue to lead us all the way!



P.S. Take a look at how many sheeps follow after JESUS...

Have a Blessed day!

Sister Judy

Yeah, Jude, my journey away from traditions was similar to yours! I must post my old article on that again; I did put it up on Jaisens forum.
The more things change, the more they stay the same!!! Jesus told them back then not to follow tradition, but they are still doing it!!!!!

Yes Brother Colin and Harry.... We are to preach the LIGHT of the Glorious Gospel of Christ who is the Image of our GOD, and we must not be weary in well doing.

When I removed myself from all the traditions, I found myself in deep thinking. I thought now what does Santa have to do with "Christmas?" And what does the "Easter Egg and the Bunny" have to do with Easter? I never really thought of it before. Like countless precious souls, I was following the traditions of the church and thought that there was no harm in doing so. I was at least a fourth generation Roman Catholic Faithful until our LORD Himself called me out back in 2006. I am so grateful!

It is sad though because when I tried to share this with family and friends, I was cursed at and told to go my way... Many chose to "unfriend" me on their email account and it did break my heart, but what to do? I did sound the trumpet. However, I did not push my belief or opinions. I just told them to read the Bible and ask the LORD for HIS Truth and guidance. All I can say is if they had ears to hear--they were unwilling to hear, so I have to move on.

Brother Harry you are doing a marvelous job sharing your wonderful sentiments with us! Brother Colin, I enjoy your response!

Blessings!

You got that right, Harry!!! They just feed us what we want to hear, to keep us coming!? just like politicians do??
We were forced into submission a thousand yrs ago by the Catholic Church, and even now most protestants can't seem to pull away, even though they have the freedom to do so.
I'm convinced it's the paganism that really keeps people interested, (Christmas, Easter etc) not the moral commandments; they are not exciting enough!!!???

EZEKIEL 34:11-15

'For thus says the Lord God: "Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down," says the Lord God.

Look what Almighty God is doing!!!

Ezekiel 34:1
The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and tell them, even to the shepherds, Thus says Yahweh: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shouldn't the shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, and you clothe you with the wool, you kill the fatlings; but you don't feed the sheep. 4 You haven't strengthened the diseased, neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have you bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought back that which was driven away, neither have you sought that which was lost; but with force and with rigor have you ruled over them. 5 They were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and they became food to all the animals of the field, and were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill: yes, my sheep were scattered on all the surface of the earth; and there was none who searched or sought.

Most of our preachers and leaders in the church do not feed us the true gospel of God!