Don’t Enrich Greedy TV Evangelists

Grrrr, I am mad! While channel surfing this morning, I witnessed a woman preaching about The Day of Atonement. She literally asked each of us to write a check for TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS (and lesser sums starting at $70-80) and send it to her as our offering to God. For being completely clueless about the intent of that scripture for Christians, boy was she gutsy (or criminal).

Here’s the scripture passage she bent to her good fortune:

The Day of Atonement

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the Lord. And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people. And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.”

Let’s just say this scripture is completely applicable to us today. Let’s just say. If that is the case…. 1) she didn’t mention attendance at a church service, 2) she didn’t mention fasting & prayer, 3) she didn’t mention bringing a FOOD offering, 4) she didn’t mention taking the day off, 5) and she didn’t mention being cut off from the family of God.

“Well” you ask, “what did she mention?”

She mentioned how you don’t want to show up empty handed before God, & how giving will open up the opportunity to experience blessing, wealth, prosperity, etc. Seriously.

She topped off her claims with “It is a statute forever.”

God demands this of us forever.

And the bonus is when we send in our check, we get to also send in our prayer request, which “will be covered. (whatever that means).

The festivals of the Old Testament point to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus folks, and our lives filled in worship of him. They don’t point to greedy self-aggrandizing preachers.