Today’s Devotion: Deuteronomy 4

Of all of the chapters that we have read in the bible on our chapter a day through the bible journey, I wanted to cut this one out and paste it as my blog today. What a mighty chapter of lessons! From the importance of obedience, how to raise our children, forbidden idolatry, the love of God and proof that God himself exists. Huge, big, powerful message that Moses offers one last time to the Israelities before entering into the promise land.

Verse 2 caught my attention. “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.” This verse reminded me of a blog that calls out Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer for their misuse and misrepresentation of God’s Word to deceive people through what is being called “The Prosperity Gospel.”

The blog is titled, “The False Promise of the Prosperity Gospel: Why I called Out Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer.” This article made my heart jump. For years I have been uncomfortable with the teachings of Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer, but remained private about it because we all have our own taste when it comes to biblical teachers. I commend Rick Henderson for his blog and John Piper for his video explanation of how prosperity preaching twists scripture in the most harmful way. I suspected that false teachers might be represented in the form of popular evangelists like Joel and Joyce, but I didn’t have anything to support this except a “gut feeling” until now. Rick’s blog, and many I found after further research, reveal those who are not heeding to the warning God gives us through Moses in verse 2.

This chapter affirms our need to hear directly from God – from His Word – not authors, speakers, and prosperity preachers. Sure, I love Dr. David Jeremiah, John Piper, Dr. John MacArthur, Dr. Vernon McGee, Billy Graham, Chuck Swindall, and Dr. Tony Evans and dozen’s more. They are all credible, trustworthy, God-fearing leaders who have been instrumental in helping me develop good disciplines in my faith journey. Even with that being said, I am confident they would agree that God’s Word is the truest source of information for us to feed our starving souls; not their ministries, sermons, podcasts or books.

As incredible as Deuteronomy 4 is in its entirety, God laid on my heart the need to be reminded that He is my one and only source of truth and that I should not add to it. There is a skewed interpretation of what prosperity is on this side of heaven and I need to guard my heart from believing the lies that some preachers preach. Despite the gloom that this perspective brings to some of the Joel and Joyce supporters, it is amazing what peace there is in the assurance of spending eternity with God and because of THAT assurance, which comes directly from the WORD of God, I am moved to keep His commands and because of that truth, we will prosper.