Anxiety is Futile.

 Matthew 6:25-34 (ESV)

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,

29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

I've worried about things most of my life.  I was vaguely aware that anxiety was a sin, but didn't really take it seriously until I was forced to not be anxious, in the name of my own sanity. 

I used to believe that once I figured it out, then I can relax.  Scripture says this is incorrect thinking:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV)

There is a saying I sometimes say to myself:  If I'm bound for Hell, worrying will not change that. (In fact, Jesus gives a similar comparison in Matthew 6:27, concerning human lifespan)  If I'm bound for Heaven, worrying is forbidden anyway.

Now, this is not to say that we are to do nothing in our lives, similar to the main character in Office Space.  But rather:

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:17, ESV)

Taking action does not always equal anxiety.  If you know you must take action, take action.  This is not anxiety.

All in all, (and I say this to myself too), anxiety is futile.

Update on My Personal Life

 I just wanted to give this update in case people may wonder why I have deleted certain posts from my blog.  Yes, they concern stumblings and sins in my own personal life.  I don't hide the fact that I have struggled with certain issues, especially concerning the non-platonic, in the heart (like Matthew 5:28 and the like).  This post proves I'm not hiding it.  Yet, those issues have been confessed and repented of privately, and I'd like to leave it behind (Philippians 3:13).  

I accept any and all biblical correction (Proverbs 6:23) in this and all matters.

John Piper Exposed: Another Essentials Lie Believer

 “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4, KJV)

And...I found it. John Piper believes in the essentials lie, which makes the case clearer that John Piper is a false teacher.

In the Affirmation of Faith of the Desiring God ministry, it says the following:

15.1 We do not believe that all things in this affirmation of faith are of equal weight, some being more essential, some less. We do not believe that every part of this affirmation must be believed in order for one to be saved.

In Matthew 4:4 and related, Jesus says LIVE and EVERY. John Piper denies this Truth.

John Piper and Christian Hedonism

 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5-8, ESV)

This one surprised me so much, that I had to talk about it.  Now, I know of many names of people who have been exposed as false teachers, Billy Graham, R. C. Sproul, John Hagee, J. Vernon McGee, Franklin Graham, Charles Surgeon, Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, John MacArthur, and others who are Calvinists, American Baptists, etc. (Click here to check that one out).

Now, as for John Piper, as I've said, this one surprised me.  Maybe it shouldn't, but I don't know.  Anyway, I looked at his Wikipedia article, and it led me to a doctrine called "Christian Hedonism", which appears to be an oxymoron.

Anyway, upon reading that article, which says that in developing the doctrine, John Piper was influenced by Ayan Rand, the author of Atlas Shrugged, and a stanch defender of individualism.

Is this not setting your mind on the flesh?  Mind you, this is not the same as taking care of yourself, as it is written:

“For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,” (Ephesians 5:29, ESV)

However, what John Piper is advocating in Christian Hedonism can be summed up in his quote attributed to him in the Christian Hedonism Wikipedia article:

The desire to be happy is a proper motive for every good deed, and if you abandon the pursuit of your own joy, you cannot love man or please God.

This appears very foreign to me (John 10:5).  What about the motivation of fear?

“By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.” (Proverbs 16:6, ESV)

Update on my Previous Post on Online Christian Forums

 When providing a link concerning John MacArthur on a previous post (not the one I'm talking about now), I came across a Scripture verse about not digging up evil.  I don't know the citation as of now, but that's why I unpublished the post about online Christian forums.  Yes, there are multiple denominations represented online, which makes for virtually guaranteed heresy, but again, I'm trying to be more careful.

Let me repeat some Scripture verses that guide my carefulness (ESV is used for more clarity):

“desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.” (1 Timothy 1:7, ESV)

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” (James 3:1, ESV)

References to other False Teachers

 To identify by name each and every false teacher that is in my memory would be exhausting, for there are many.  However, to aid in the identification of false teachers, here is a link to not only the references to false teachers, but also how to identify them, via Darwin Fish of A True Church:

https://atruechurch.info/falseteachershome.html

Luis Palau, Yet Another Cookie Cutter False Teacher

 I first heard of Luis Palau when I volunteered at KRBW 90.5FM, an affiliate of American Family Radio (a false ministry, they have their "War on Christmas" like many others, thus promoting the false holiday, again, like many others).  So, again, in the spirit of "prove all things" (I Thessalonians 5:21), I examine Luis Palau.

It's the same old story.  First, according to his Wikipedia article, he had a close association with Billy Graham, another false teacher (Mr. Graham denied Christ on Hour of Power, another false ministry, by saying there are multiple roads to God), against I Timothy 5:22.  Second, his "strong appeal to young people" seems to fit Luke 6:26, concerning false prophets being well received.

Now, this one I cannot explicitly pin on Mr. Palau himself, since he is dead.  His ministry, Palau.org, asks people for money, against 2 Corinthians 2:17.  I cannot say whether Mr. Palau also practiced peddling the Word of God for profit, but it appears likely.

Also, like with Max Lucado, I see no mention of WHY you need to be saved on Palau.org.  They say "Salvation is within reach", citing Romans 10:13:

“For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” (Romans 10:13, ESV)

But again, where's the mention of Hell or the fear of God? (Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:5) Where's the mention of repentance? (see Luke 13:2-5) 

Luis Palau is just another cookie-cutter false teacher that must be fleed from:

“A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:5, ESV)