"Ask Jesus to do something impossible and He will get right off of that throne and go do it for you".
- Jesse Duplantiss
(from the Promo YouTube video of JDM - Jesse Duplantiss Ministries)
🌺🌿🌺🌿
Before Mom and I became Born Again Christians (only a few days apart in 1978), Mom taught courses in something called "Concept Therapy". She got there when the Real Estate company she worked for sent all its employees for a weekend of "Sucess Seminars".
Mom was intrigued and, being the consummate over achiever, found out about their parent organization, which led her to Concept Therapy. She learned all she could about the driving principles of Concept Therapy, which led her to Hindu Medation and to studying "The Life and Teachings of the Masters of the Far East", which she had in a boxed set and studied backwards, forwards and upside down.
I was on a separate but parallel path to Mom's.
I saw a made for TV movie called "The UFO Incident" which aired on NBC in October, 1975 when I was 9 years old
(Oops❗️🙊 I accidentally outed my age on the internet again),
about the supposed alien abduction of an average American couple named Betty and Barney Hill. This movie completely FREAKED out an entire generation and launched the modern fascination with UFOs and Alien abduction.❗️😱)
Since "the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree" when it comes to me and Mom, I went to the Library and asked the Librarian, "What's a good, Grown-Up book about Aliens?"
She recommended a popular book at the time called, "Chariots of the Gods" by Kurt Vonnegut, which puts forth the Theory that the Ancient Egyptians were too stupid to build the pyramids on their own and therefore had help from SUPERIOR beings from other planets. Kurt demonstrates this by showing several photos of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics that seem to depict space craft and alien beings.
It seemed my next logical step was to study Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics. (Yes. Okay. I acknowledge I was an odd child.) 🫤
That led me into the study of all the Ancient Egyptian gods, which put me in the same head space as Mom.
She was explaining Concept Therapy to me and I told her it reminded me of what I was learning about Ancient Egypt. Basically they have the same beliefs.
"Uh. That's all fascinating, Laura-Lee, but what has this got to do with our topic?"
🙁
The repackaged, modern face of all of this is called, "The New Age Movement" and it is EVERYWHERE, even entrenched in the Christian Church.
In 1978, when Mom and I were brand new Christians, there were no Christian radio stations, no Christian TV networks and only ONE Christian TV show in Canada called, "100 Huntley Street"
But there were three Christian TV shows we got in Canada from America, The 700 Club (Pat Robertson and Ben Kinchlow), The PTL Club (Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker) and
(Pause for dramatic effect)
Kenneth Copeland.
We soaked them all up.
About a year later, in 1979, Ken Copeland came to talk in Vancouver (BC, Canada) where we lived at the time.
Of course, we were going❗️
😃😃
We listened to Ken preach live for two hours straight. UNEDITED.
In the car ride home we were silent for quite some time until I turned to Mom and asked,
"Mom, how is what we heard different than the New Age stuff, because it sounds exactly the same to me?"
She answered, "It IS exactly the same thing, Laura-Lee. Ken's just hiding it behind the words of the Bible and using the name of Jesus in a blasphemous way."
Well, that was the END of Kenny in our lives. 🤨
Not just Ken, but his BFF John Hagee and fellow Word Faith, Prosperity Gospel cohorts like Jesse Duplantiss.
Now, enough story telling. Let's get to the GUTS of what is wrong with all of this.
I've been honing down my way of explaining this through the past 46 years, because it SOUNDS Christian but it is often subtle in its deception, so I'll make this as simple and clear as I can.
Go back and look again at the original statement by Jesse Duplantiss that I began this post with.
(I'll wait) 🙂 🕰
🌹🍃🌹🍃🌹🍃🌹🍃
Okay. Here it is in a nutshell.
The LORD, God Almighty is not the Bell Hop, a big happy Santa Claus in the Sky nor your Sugar Daddy❗️❗️❗️
He is obligated to give you NOTHING just because you quote the Bible nor is He required to cough up the stuff you want because you say, "In the name of Jesus".
God is NOT your SERVANT you are HIS❗️
"Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, ... "
(Romans 1:1)
"James, a servant of God.. "
(James 1:1)
"Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ..."
(1 Peter 1:1)
Are you starting to see a trend here, people? 🤫
Now let's get a wee bit 🤏 more specific about the fallacy of this way of viewing things.
It preaches that there is power in the Spoken Word itself. That by merely speaking something out loud or DECLARING something "In the name of Jesus" we can speak it into existence. We can't.
Only GOD can speak things into existence
"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."
(Genesis 1:3)
But I've got some harsh news for you, so brace for impact.
😣
You're not God❗️❗️❗️
Deal with it.
Even as His beloved Children this is not an ability He has granted to us.
As far as the Leaders of this movement are concerned, my abilities at reading Body Language and facial expressions is invaluable.
When Ken , John, Jesse, and others of their ilk are blatantly asking for money to buy themselves a brand new jet, telling you to send them "seed money" or order a handkerchief they touched and place in on a body part to receive Divine healing or whatever ridiculous thing they are doing to "take the gospel to every nation",
their faces are filled with what is known as "Duping Delight". Basically, they are getting their "jollies" because you are stupid and they can tell you anything and you will buy it, hook, line and sinker.
Now let's get practical
How can you tell if you are part of this movement or wish to safeguard yourself against it, because not all Word Faith churches are rich and over the top like the ones I've mentioned?
Any time someone wants you to declare something Biblical out loud, or say "in the name of Jesus ", which is fine and good in certain contexts 💁♀️, add the phrase,
"...if it is God's will."
This will constantly be putting your emphasis where it belongs because, ultimately, what we want (even if it's a good thing) may not be God's will for us AT THAT MOMENT.
God ALWAYS knows what is BEST for us and sometimes that involves not getting what we want and even walking through some dark and difficult seasons of Life.
"I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.
Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me"
(Isaiah 44:6-7)
Reading ALL of Isaiah, chapter 44 is a good way to refresh our knowing of just how big God really is.
Link to all of Isaiah 44 (for a quick refresher on who God is),
The Truth with Love,
Always Laura-Lee
Here is your treat for scrolling to the bottom
and to purge you of all of this garbage I had to tell you to protect you.
🤗
