The problem is deep down inside, we all secretly want to believe a prosperity Gospel b/c we desire to be the center of our lives, and not God. Suffering destroys that picture as it reminds us that we really don't have any control of how our lives turn out. We cannot prevent disaster from befalling us b/c we're not God.

God never promised us physical safety, but that our flesh will be remade new one day and we will see Him face to face.

One of the biggest misconceptions people have about becoming a follower of Jesus is that he will fix all your problems. Broken marriage - Jesus will fix it. Crummy job - Jesus will fix it. Wayward kids - Jesus will fix it. Not enough money - Jesus will fix it. This doesn't seem to square with Scripture.

Martin Luther suggested that part of every Christian's calling is to suffer. That doesn't market well, does it?

Most of evangelicalism has been affected by the prosperity gospel more than we would like to admit.

Thanks for sharing this. I think a corollary misconception is that the Gospel will prevail in an environment devoid of persecution. In the US, many people claiming to be Christ-followers work diligently to eliminate any aspects of culture that make Christ-followers uncomfortable. Yet, as I look at the history of the church the Gospel has been most pronounced and made the biggest influence in societies where it was persecuted.

Now, I don't want to experience persecution any more than the next person, but we need to remember that God tends to work most noticeably in situations He's least expected.

And the river runs wide
And the river runs deep
And I spit in the eye
Of safe company
When I dive right down
To the undertow
Well, the deeper I drown
Lord, the higher I'll go.

John Mellencamp, "To the River"

"What do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about becoming a follower of Jesus?"

Yep, have to agree with SWE, people come to Y'shua with a whole caravan load of baggage thinking, "oh hey, yeah, I'm saved from hell, and from this baggage train! Whooohooo!"
Only to discover the "wha-what?" when they realize that nope...that baggage train is still there.
Yeah, some things get easier to deal with, but those other things...yeah, it takes time...and maybe an entire life time, and not even then is everything hunky dory.
Life is difficult, and yeah it sucks to have to live through it...but thats what its all about...living through it.

1. You (and Tozer), hit the nail on the head, Margaret. Nobody really likes to suffer, yet one of our culture’s ethos and driving myths is the pursuit of happiness. We tend to live a lifestyle devoid of suffering at all causes. When I asked random students on a college campus to explain their purpose of life, the two most given answers were to obtain happiness and bliss. What happens when we allow our cultural baggage to penetrate our hermeneutic and theology? In part, we are left with domesticated disciples who follow two masters: Christ being the first and “the god of my perceived happiness” being the later. Then we sprinkle this with a dose of health and wealth and Voila! We have created a recipe in which Christ can look more like us instead of us like Him.

Christ can and will heal wounds according to His will. He may also allow suffering to take place; and during that suffering, guess who’s there feeling our pain and providing comfort?

"And the 11th Commandment is: It's got to be fun!"

- A PRAYER FROM JESUS -

This prayer is from Jesus that we may here from Him, that He may meet our needs. It only consist of three simple steps.

1) We need to read one scripture. This will focus us in the word that brings everlasting life.

2) Since this prayer is from Jesus we need to direct our prayer to Him personally. To often Christian focus they're prayer‘s to G_D the father. Scripture proclaims that Jesus should be the focus of our prayer.

3) The simplest part of this Prayer is to ask Jesus one question. Please, all that is required for this question is to make it simple. Let Jesus Himself finish the question when He gives you that understanding through prayer.

The PRAYER

The scripture that is the focus of this prayer is “ACTS 2:38”. It’s not necessary to do any study into this scripture. Jesus Himself willl bestow the understanding that will resonate in your heart.

The most important part of this prayer is that we need to direct our prayer directly to Jesus. If you normally would say Father in your prayer, change your focus from the Father to Christ Jesus by lifting Jesus name up every time you would normally use Father in your prayer.

Maybe the hardest part of this prayer is the question that we need to ask Jesus. For man as we are, always try to understand the question and may add many additional quires. The simplest question is all that is required.

Simply ask Jesus ‘WHY, Jesus why’