Reading the New Testament it seems that at least some Christians felt Paul was an embarrassment to the message of the Lordship of Christ, what with his experiences of all types of weakness, his imprisonment, his thorn in the flesh, his times of near starvation etc. He didn’t always look victorious enough to satisfy some people. Paul didn’t agree and neither do I, nor should you be sucked into that way of thinking. It can easily happen. You can even get to the stage of saying with one Prosperity teacher, “Now if Paul had my faith, he wouldn’t have had….”

Don’t pretend to be stronger than you are for the sake of the approval of others. You should never try and make room for wrong theology just to make someone feel better! As you live your life for Jesus, don’t be controlled by their faulty faith (which they will probably think is strong faith), their misunderstanding of God’s Word (which they are convinced is true) and their wrong image of what the victory of Christ in you should look like today (it should look like what it looks like in me). Be set free from the bondage of others’ opinion, approval or expectation. Discover what victory looks like in your unique life-story today as I continue to discover what it means in mine.

God Bless

Kenny