Fasting may prove helpful to your soul RMD. The point that went over your head is that 'ministers' such as Osteen preach that Christianity is all pink bunnies and unicorns - peace, material prosperity and God just hands out whatever you want. Material wealth provides one with joy and happiness - along with positive mental thinking.
Jesus said take up your cross and follow me.
Jesus said the rich will find it very hard to enter heaven
Jesus never preached pop western materialism - he taught that a Christian's entire focus should be on Him and him alone and that anyone who gets his focus off him and onto the world would be in danger.
Only a life focused on Jesus will provide real joy. Material things here will only rust and be stolen - so don't store up treasures on earth.
If you think you have to 'sell' Jesus so you can get 'things' and worldly happiness - you are pitching the wrong Jesus.
And given the sorry spiritual state our nation is in right now - a good dose of sackcloth and ashes may be in order as well.
I won’t rise to your baiting with your “advice” that fasting may prove helpful to my soul. LOL! I just love Christians with “holier than thou” attitudes. They are the worst sort of poison to non-believers and the reason many would never darken the door of a church.
As for the pink bunnies and unicorns, I’m not sure that is what I get from Joel’s preaching. Yes, it is positive and encouraging - but always in a way that glorifies Christ and admonishes Christians to place God first in all things and give Him credit for all things.
That said, I’m not here to defend anyone. I just wanted to give another viewpoint as to the different ways God uses different people to bring his children home. His Ways are not our ways..and it would do a lot of good to everyone if we gave Him complete trust in all things and not just the ones that subscribe to our way of thinking.