mya,
I have an ipad Air for nipate and other mundane stuff. The mini will be purely for the Word
OK, I was kidding on that. Please don't take offense. The little I do on .com and .org I can afford without sweat.
There is nothing wrong with living large, but if it comes from convincing the gullible that giving you money will endear them to God and earn them fortunes then we have a problem.
Size is intimidating. Recall David and Goliath. So when most people see Dexter Jakes thundering from the pulpit, they are least likely to question anything he says. There almost seems to be an unwritten rule that if he/she is this big, he can't be wrong. If Paul, the greatest apostle,pastor,preacher who ever lived was subjected to scrutiny by the people of Berea (Acts 17:11), nobody should be immune from scrutiny. Am a skeptic, I take what you say and test it against scriptures because if you mislead me, we will both end up in hell; you for misrepresenting God,me for believing your lies
I watched the first few episodes of Preachers of LA and I got bored. There is no place for such opulence in the Bible. These guys are just serving their own god, their belly. It is sad.
I agree with you about faith being a seed but these guys equate offering to the seed not the faith. so it is all about who gives MORE. The more you give, the more you prosper. This is unbiblical. The poor widow gave among the least denomination of the then currency and she was more JUSTIFIED that those who gave several times her giving. If that woman gave today,she would not get a reserved seat at the front of a megachurch. IT is the millionaires givers who are more honored today. Funy thing is what men esteem most is oft times worthless before God
Paul 'pressured' the poor to give, but ONLY for CHARITY not his lifestyle. When it came to his own sustenance, he often waived the right to an income and opted to work with his hands. Paul had no qualms with poor Macedonians giving to the poor saints of Jerusalem. But he could not burden the poor to support him. Nowadays you have the poor supporting one individual lead an obscene lifestyle. This is manifested in jets, rides, castles and so forth. THis is wrong. One disgraced former head of Mars Hill church had some stooges proposing that he earn $650,000 per annum. Churches are not corporations where leaders become millionaires simply because giving has increased. There is CITAM with thousands across the country here and I was shocked to learn that the former head, Bishop Adoyo spins a Toyota 110. That's a worthless junk costing no more than 400,000 KES. That is the spirit
You can do this simple test; confirm how many of the prosperity preachers major in charity work. They seldom. All they collect goes towards never-ending church 'projects'- bigger 'sanctuary', better sound, AC, seats.... administration and so forth. They only pay lip service to charity. I know of a church where the charity department is very vibrant. They visit prisons, hospices, the aged, orphanages....but the members have to raise the funds for these missions over and above what they gave in church as tithes and offerings.