Name It and Claim It Ain't It

So many Pastors today preach a "name it and claim it" philosophy, and they back it up with Bible verses like this one:

"whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

The thing is, when you take pieces of the Bible you can use them to back up almost any belief you want to espouse. The Bible is a complete book, a picture of who God is, given to us to know more about God from a human perspective. You cannot take it in bits and pieces.

For instance, the quote above was something Jesus said directly to Peter. Pastors will tell you it applies to us all, but that does not mean we can decide what to do and Heaven will okay it with a big stamp of approval.

We don't bend God to our will - ever. That's not the purpose of prayer, that's not the reason to become or remain a Christian. God is not some Heavenly Grandfather peering down and winking at our indiscretions and looking for ways to bless us.

Yes, we have blessings, and God will pour them down on us. Micah 3:10 says clearly

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 

But that's out of context, too. This was a promise given to the people of Israel, after scolding them for robbing God. Yes, the promise reflects to us, but there is a condition to it. Give back to God what belongs to Him, and the blessings He has for us will be poured out.

That is still far from "name it and claim it" that is preached by some current churches.

Jesus says very clearly in Matthew 6:33 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." That IS a promise to us, but the "all things" are the things we need, not the things we want.

God supplies our needs. If God gives you more than what you need, look around. Maybe He wants you to help supply the needs of others.

It is more blessed to give than receive. That is from the Bible - from Acts 20:35.

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "

Thanks for reading. God bless you.