The Motley Ms: A Therapy Blog
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Guest Blogger Submission Guidelines

6/17/2017

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Hello fellow Curious Gals (and Guys!).  The Motley Ms. welcomes guest bloggers to help us explore and ponder the Universe!  Please review the following guidelines prior to submission:

- Guest blog posts must be relevant to the overall theme.  Motely Ms is varied and eclectic- but within reason.  Your article should fit within a general theme of personal growth, hope and/or restoration (healing from abuse, abandonment, betrayal, etc.). ‘How to,’ opinion and personal stories are appreciated. Spiritual posts must be Christian-focused.  Prosperity ‘gospel’ not allowed.
- 800- 1500 word count.
- You must own the rights to your submission and allow The Motley Ms. to publish.  Once published, The Motley Ms reserves the right to maintain, edit or remove the post.
- Nothing spammy.  Content written for the sole purpose of advertising your product or page will not be considered. No press releases. 
- Please submit meaningful content with limited out-going links. 
- Please provide a link to an interesting and appropriate photo (on topic) along with photo credit.
- Please provide a short bio with your submission.  A link to your blog and/or social media page is acceptable.
- Please cite all sources.
- The Motley Ms. Reserves the right to edit for spelling, grammar, length, images and appropriateness of content.
- Guidelines originally posted 5/25/2017 and blogged on 6/17/2017.  Updates will be made and noted on this blog entry.  Your submission reflects the understanding and agreement of The Motley Ms’ submission guidelines.  Submit to: melindabhaynes@gmail.com.

​Happy musings!

Picture credit: allthingslearning.wordpress.com 

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A Den of Wolves: Prosperity Pimps on the Loose

6/3/2017

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Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
You would think this topic had been sufficiently re-hashed in Christ-believing circles by now, but sadly, no.  I am still confronted with supposed Christians who defend these so called ‘preachers.’  (btw, “I like him/her” is not a good biblical defense.) This should make us wonder about deception, right?  Because, after all, the problem with being deceived is, you're deceived.

To be clear, I’m speaking of any pastor, teacher or preacher who claims health, wealth and prosperity; “name it and claim it;” or any version of Word of Faith in relation to our success on this earth.  Currently, the popular ones are Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, Paul Crouch, and so forth.  You can usually find them on TBN. And, you can usually find them declaring things into the atmosphere and asking for "seed money."  You know the stuff Jesus did all the time.
​
Let’s discuss how dangerous this false ‘gospel’ is:
  1. It puts gifts before the Giver.  We are created to worship Him in spirit and in truth, not focus on our material needs.  When we put “blessings” as the focus of our worship, we are actually worshiping the blessings - and ourselves.  We are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  Prosperity gospel seeks comfort, material gain, success, blessings we are “entitled” to, and other worldly gains.
  2. It is arrogant.  This false “gospel” teaches us to believe that WE know what is best for our lives.  It completely reverses the order of the God-redeemed relationship, putting the created in control of the Creator. 
  3. It makes a mockery of the Cross.  The Prosperity "gospel" states that we don’t have to suffer because Christ suffered for us.  That’s a blatant twist of Scripture.  Yes, Christ suffered for us.  He died so that we could be reconciled to God. We are also to pick up our cross and follow him.  The Cross is an instrument of death.  That means we need to die to ourselves- live a life of self-denial; less “me,” more Him. 
  4. It’s a “gospel” of comfort.  It claims that God wants us to be happy, healthy and prosperous.  Actually, God cares more about our spiritual growth into holiness rather than our level of personal comfort, career success or happiness. We are called to enduring suffering and to walk out our salvation with fear and trembling. Maybe the thing we need for a stronger reliance on God is an illness or poverty in this temporal life.
  5. It is blasphemous.  It states that all we have to do is proclaim our desires into the atmosphere and God, the angles, the universe, have to respond. Ummmm??? God is God.  We are not.  He is sovereign.  He blesses whom He will bless and curses whom He will curse- not up to us.  He is God. 
  6. It demonstrates complete and utter lack of faith (despite its name and claim). If God watches over us more than the sparrows, why would we ever have to declare anything for ourselves?  If He loves us and wants good things for us, why must we run around yelling into the atmosphere that God must fulfill our every wish because we have claimed it?  If He is in control, let Him declare it- or not.  Our job is to worship Him even if the fig tree fails, and to be content in Him in all circumstances.
  7. It negates the words of Jesus, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”  WOF has no interest in being poor- in any shape or form.  Instead, this movement tells us to 'strike a power pose' and declare our desires into the spirit realm.
  8. It is a slap in the face to anyone who has experienced devastation, heartbreak or need.  (you didn’t have enough faith).  They could have saved their sick child, kept their job or cured themselves of cancer had only they believed more.
  9. It diminishes the sovereignty of God.  Maybe He wants us to go through hardships for our eternal benefit; to strengthen our faith or cleans our hearts of idols- or whatever reason God decides.  He’s God.  Maybe the trials we face are more about the sanctification process than about failure to speak affirmations over ourselves.
  10. It confuses the wrath of God with normal trials and tribulations and with sufferings and persecutions of being a Christ follower. All suffering is not related to sin or lack of faith.  Suffering is a normal experience of being on this fallen earth.  Suffering is also useful for spiritual growth (perseverance produces …)
  11. It misses the point of the Acts church. The Bible gives us the natural order of Christian living.  none of them had need as they shared amongst each other.  Scripture does not say, “No one had a need because they all proclaimed material blessings upon themselves.”
  12. It tells us to pursue the very thing Jesus warned against. Love of money, instead of encouraging us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, pleasing to God.
  13. It mimics Satan’s tempting of Jesus in the wilderness: “I will give you…” If God saw fit to warn us that Satan knows and twists Scripture in his efforts to lead us astray, we should take heed.
  14. It’s a whitewashed tomb; witchcraft dressed up in Christian clothes; New Age law of attraction.  It’s deceptive, fueled by deceiving spirits that put a little truth in every lie to create an illusion of righteousness.  Funny, how even non-believers can see this.
 
All of this is said with the knowledge that no one can come to the Father unless He draws him or her.   Perhaps He will not draw those who are already fully convinced that they have already found their “truth” in the prosperity “gospel”?  It’s not for me to know.

What I do know is that He desires people to worship Him in spirit and in Truth and if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. 

Don’t take my word for it.  Please, ask God for wisdom and discernment. 
Be blessed with spiritual blessings, my friend.
 
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com

Prosperity gospel, lie, false doctrine, WOF
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Finding Meaning in Suffering

6/3/2017

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Finding Meaning in Suffering

In grieving the loss of innocence and encountering the metamorphosis (forced as it is), we can begin the search for meaning: we can find purpose for suffering.

We will need spiritual eyes and a willing heart to find it.  (Or, thankfully, we may gain our spiritual eyes and a willing heart while we are searching.) One way to do this is to try on new ways of thinking, or to try viewing our troubles from a different (eternal, perhaps?) perspective.

One ‘new’ mindset is expressed here: “The death of a dream can result in unrecognized grief and discouragement. Old illusions die hard. Viewing life as a challenging, evolving reality that requires parallel personal growth is a perspective that is at odds with many of our simplistic and immature fantasies.”- Dr. Harold Cohen

Personal growth? Immature fantasies?  Ouch.  Is this what they call “adulting”? I don’t think I signed up for such things!  Nevertheless, recovering from the pain that life has to offer calls us to a deeper awareness. Pain calls us outside of ourselves and into a greater presence, a more authentic existence.

If we believe that suffering serves a purpose greater than the pain, we may be able to transition into the stage of acceptance.  Yes, eventually.
​
Read 1 Cor. 3: 1-7 – for more on comfort in suffering.
See also Acceptance and Freedom (blog post)
Photo Credit: https://pixabay.com

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    Hi! My name is Melinda. I'm a saved-by-grace-er, lifelong learner, INFJ, health & fitness trynabe, Mom, #vanlifer, mental health vlogger, and Director & Clinical Supervisor at a Child & Family Therapy Practice in Northern California.

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