Daily Devotional for Thursday May 15, 2014

Why are People Looking for a Book to Change their Life when they have the Greatest Book Ever Written

(2 Timothy 3:16,17)

***ASK BILL: Pastor Bill, I am a Christian and my husband is not. Could you give me clarify this Scripture, 1 Cor. 7:14, "For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy."

ANSWER: It means that the Believing spouse needs to be in prayer for the non-Believing spouse, since that is one of the key ways God can bring that lost spouse to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through their Godly influence.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16,17

Why are people always looking for a book to change their life when the greatest life-changing book has already been written??? "The Circle Maker" by Pastor Mark Batterson, Senior Pastor of the National Community Church in Washington DC, is the hottest selling book Christians are buying today. It is pure heresy and demonstrates the incredible lack of discernment and Biblical illiteracy that is keeping a large percentage of Believers weak and ineffective!

Batterson's "The Circle Maker" is a sad example of the apostasy that is plaguing the church with the help of "Christian publisher" Zondervan, who is using their vast network of churches across the nation to aid in that apostasy by selling books like this with NO FOUNDATION in Scripture!

The premise of the book is based on an old Jewish legend about a fictional character named Honi who drew circles in the sand to get the things he wanted from God. Batterson is using this myth to teach people to draw circles around the things they want, or around the promises in God's Word and they will receive the things they desire. It is being fraudulently marketed as a new way to pray and see the answers to your prayers by using these "circles" which, of course, is not supported ANYWHERE in Scripture!

Batterson is simply the latest in the last generation of seeker/purpose driven/emerging church/prosperity Gospel marketeers who play on the Biblical ignorance of most Christians to sell them blasphemous books like the "Circle Maker." The fact is, this book not only is a false teaching on prayer, but embraces elements of witchcraft and new age philosophies.

I knew that this book by Batterson was no good when I heard he was on satanic Mormon cult member Glenn Beck's radio program and that Beck loved the book. That is not a shock since the foundation of Beck's cult is rooted in the satanic. I sent Batterson an email asking why he would go on Beck's program and allow Beck to use him to perpetuate the lie he is a Christian and not challenge that lie. Of course, like all "Christians" Beck buys, they support his lie rather than to expose Beck for "masquerading as an angel of light," but to make money no matter how many souls it may end up leading to hell!

This book reminded me of "The Prayer of Jabez," authored by Bruce Wilkinson. "Jabez" comes from 1 Chronicles 4:9,10 and is the prayer to God by a man named Jabez. Soon after it was published in 2000, the book was being marketed by insinuating people could pray this prayer in repetition in order to bring them fortune and blessings, very much the same way "The Circle Maker" does. These type of books take Scripture out of context in order to make such false claims, preying on people's Biblical illiteracy.

THERE ARE NO MAGIC PRAYERS. WE PRAY TO GOD IN FAITH TRUSTING IN HIS PROVIDENCE, NOT MAGICAL WORDS OR MAGICAL CIRCLES!!!

If I had $1 for every email I get each month from people asking me what book they can read to help them in their walk with the Lord, I would never have to worry about the finances of Liveprayer again. Every day I get emails from people who are going through problems with their marriage, with their children, with their finances, with their health, in their job, with some addiction, and about every other issue you can imagine. Inevitably they will ask me if there is a good book they can read to help them with their problem.

Of course, I tell that that I know the PERFECT book and even know the author personally. Unless this is the very first Daily Devotional you have ever read, you already know what book I tell them to read...THE BIBLE!!! There has never been a book written that will ever compete with the book written by God Himself though the pens of those men He Divinely inspired, that will guide you and instruct you on every problem and issue you will face in this life. NONE! So let me say right up front that when you are going through problems in your life, facing the trials and tribulations of life we all face, the best book you can read to help you and guide you is the Bible.

The Bible can be very intimidating to many people, hard to understand. God has blessed some men and women to be able to take the truths we find in God's Word and break them down in very easy to understand language and concepts. So it is good that we have literally hundreds and thousands of books out there that deal with every issue of life you can imagine from a Biblical perspective. The key point today, however, is that for any of these books to be effective, they MUST be based on Scripture. Once we get away from the Absolute Truth of God's Word, we are simply following the guidance of men and not God.

Remember this, there is only ONE TRUTH and God gave that to us in the Bible. The answer to all of life's problems are found on the pages of that great Book. There is no other source of Truth. Men can expound on God's Truths, present them in different ways, but men can't create Truth. I hate to break this to you but there are no magical prayers you can say to get wealth and prosperity as some mislead people to think.

The Bible is not a book of magic words. That is why you must be very careful about the books you decide to read. Who is the author and what is his or her credentials. More important, what is their theological background and training. The reality of today is that ANYONE can write a book. Just because it is supposed to be "Biblically based," doesn't mean it is.

Here is the litmus test I share with people all the time. Does what the author say line up with what THE AUTHOR says? In other wards, is what the author saying in line with God's Word, since that is our ultimate standard. Of course to know that, you must what? READ AND STUDY THE BIBLE! This is why I challenge you daily to read the Bible EVERY DAY. You should be in a good Bible study either through your church or with a group that has someone leading it who has the theological training to help guide you in studying God's Word. If you visit your local Christian bookstore, you will find TONS of great resources to help you read and study God's Word. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR READING AND STUDYING THE BIBLE FOR YOURSELF!

I love you and care about you so much. There are also lots of books being written all the time that are leading people AWAY from the Absolute Truth we find in God's Word. My counsel to you today is simply this. Make reading and studying the Bible a priority in your life EVERY DAY. It is the greatest, most important, and life-changing book ever created because it was written by God Himself through those human hands He Divinely inspired over many years. In your time of need, when you are struggling with life's problems, in those hours when you must have something to get you through, there is only one book to turn to....THE BIBLE!

THE BIBLE IS THE INSPIRED, INERRANT WORD OF GOD, REPRESENTING ABSOLUTE TRUTH AND OUR FINAL AUTHORITY IN ALL MATTERS!!!

In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ,

Bill Keller