“...Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness...” -from II Corinthians 11:14 & 15.
About a month ago some children came by our apartments and were handing out one month daily devotionals, and these were for August in 2012! I don't know why. The name of this one is Rhapsody of Realities, and it is still being printed today-making 22 years worth of publication.
Most of the alleged “Christian” teachings of today are in error from the Bible. They are about prosperity, health & wealth, self-esteem, positive confession, and “name it, claim it.” They will mostly ignore mankind's natural sinful separation from God, and any Bible teaching that tends to point toward it. So I decided to examine the devotional in light of truth from God's Word. It is a really, really awful devotional, and plainly promotes another gospel (Galatians 1:6-9).
What a title! Rhapsody of Realities hardly reflects any Biblical theme! This devotional was created by Chris & Anita Oyakhilome; also inside it is a copy of Loveworld News, which they also publish. My understanding is that this couple is now divorced, and no details are known, except that she remarried. The devotional continues on in the same way as before, focusing on prosperity, and unashamedly twisting scriptures to try and support what they teach. In my copy, Chris did 21 of the 31 days, and Anita did 10. I don't know if Chris got a new writing partner or not.
The devotional book is 96 pages, of which I consider 84 useable in terms of being able to list something that directly reflects on the gospel. 62 pages covered the 31 days of August, 12 pages were for “Loveworld News,” and there was a salvation page and an about the authors page. Also included was the front cover on both sides, and back cover. There were also 78 printed scriptures throughout the 84 pages; not just verses, but scriptures. Upon my brief, current visit to this site, this devotional was claimed to be distributed in 242 countries; but a Google search says there are only 195 countries in the world! This difference may only be a misunderstanding on their part.
There were certain words I looked for, which would reflect on salvation and Jesus' atonement for the sins of mankind. These base words were; sin, repent, grace, the cross, and mercy. I'll share just how absent these words were, but also go over their use in places where they appear. I Cor.2:2;
“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”
MERCY appears nowhere in the 84 pages possible for use! Mercy is a vital concept in Christianity, and it appears 55X in the New Testament. While I am not even counting times in the Old Testament, mercy appears 112X in the book of Psalms alone! We are saved by mercy, brethren.
CROSS, or CRUCIFIED appears 43X in the New Testament outside of the gospels. Jesus' suffering on the cross for our sins is the way God showed us mercy. You will find no references to the cross in this devotional.
REPENT, or repentance, is another term that is key to salvation. This is found only 1X, on August 7th, in the opening scripture. The passage is Matthew 18:1-4, and repent is in verse one; but this word or concept is not discussed in the devotional for that day!
SIN is found 4X in this devotional; August 2, 6, & 9. August 2nd: in describing Jesus' days in the flesh, Chris says He, "embraced sinners." Jesus did no such thing. He may have preached to sinners to repent, but He did not accept them to embrace them. August 6th: Anita writes, "Good news to the sinner is that God is not mad at him because of his sins." Wrong again! Check out Psalm 7:11, or John 3:36. Jesus endured God's wrath in our place on the cross; sin makes God angry. August9th: Anita really shows her colors on this one. The opening verse is James 1:21, which reads;
"Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Anita then writes that the phrase "save your souls" is NOT referring to the saving from sin in the context of the verse! She claims it means the preserving of salvation that apparently already exists in anyone reading her devotional! She is undermining the Word of God with presumptuous ideas.
GRACE is found 5X in the book, but is it the grace of God which saves the believer, as is found in Ephesians 2:8 & 9? On 8/1 we find it mentioned in the prayer people are to repeat; he is thanking God for the grace given him to be an effective soul winner, counting him faithful, and putting him in ministry to deliver others from the power of darkness. The grace spoken of here isn't applied to his own salvation, and he is declaring his own promotion without humility. It is the same type of thing on 8/5, found in the "positive confession" at the end. Chris tells us to thank God for the grace He's bestowed on us to, "reign in life today and forever." Weren't we supposed to humble ourselves before God, so that He could exalt us in due time? See I Peter 5:6. On page 3 of Loveworld News, it reads, "we've been graced with the unique opportunity," so this also doesn't apply, it is an expression. In the confession of 8/16, grace is part of a verse that is describing Jesus' character. And on 8/27, grace is again part of a verse describing Jesus. We can then see that the 5 touches on grace, scattered over the 84 pages here, was not being used in reference to what a person needs to be saved.
There is a Prayer of Salvation message in the back, and it is there without any leading into it. Amazingly, there is no mention of sin, grace, mercy, repentance, or the cross! The message begins with, "We invite you to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life by praying thus;" Didn't they miss something? Shouldn't Jesus be their savior first of all? But again, Biblical words typically used when leading to salvation are missing. Scriptures listed are Acts 2:21B & Romans 10:9, with a mention of I John 4:4. And it ends by self-declaration of their status, with NO THANKSGIVING toward God! What? The horrible, substitutionary death of Jesus for OUR sins receives no thanks? But the phony gospel of these last days is all about promoting SELF, as is well indicated by the verse on the cover of this devotional, Proverbs 4:18-please look it up, and note the absence of God.
Now consider the Bible's description of mankind in the last days, as per II Timothy 3:1-5;
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."
All bold type was added to emphasize characteristics I have noted. And this was all predicted;
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." -II Timothy 4:3,4.
Opinions are one thing, but twisting scripture, or carelessly mishandling it to promote your point of view is something far worse, and the consequences are dire (Revelation 22:18,19). Chris & Anita are shameful in their work. Yet I am really not warning you about them in particular, but because it's the example I have at my disposal to warn you about false teachers (II Peter 2:1-3, 17-21). It is my prayer that this article will help you to be more watchful in your Christian walk.
The next section was to be going over specifics of their daily devotional teaching, but there is so much bad to write about, I must abbreviate it. So please bear with me...
August 3rd: Anita said "Abraham talked to a barren womb," but he didn't.
August 5th: Chris writes, "God wants you to enjoy the life He has given you because that's the reason Jesus came in the first place." People already try hard to enjoy life, don't they? Many sinners go to their graves after lives of enjoyment. Jesus came, suffered & died to give us eternal life.
August 20th: Chris states that for the battle of Jericho, the strategy was for the Israelites to "lay down their swords, shields, and spears" as they marched around the city for 7 days. The Bible says that they were armed as they marched around it. (Joshua 6:7,13)
August 23rd: Chris claims his opening verse was medical instruction given to the priests for the people in Ezekiel 47, which it never says, but it was part of a vision that began in chapter 40.
August 24th: Anita pulls out a couple verses to claim that Christians are NOT TOLD TO OBEY GOD in the New Testament!!! What about John 15:13 & 14? Acts 5:32? Romans 6:16? Philippians 2:12? II Corinthians 10:5? Her thought is that since Christians are already justified in Christ, we are already "good to go"" in God's eyes. But to say that we aren't told to obey is simply a lie.
August 27th: She says that believers need to wake up to realize that we are blessed in all things, and that we are, "...like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; your leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever you do shall prosper." -from Psalm 1:3.
But she neglects to mention that the promise of this blessing is CONDITIONAL; and to use it accurately, we must include verses 1 & 2 before it. Those verses indicate a separation from unbelievers, and a delight/meditation in God's Word before we can expect verse 3 to be fulfilled. Is she really that blind? Or was this scripture cleverly edited to keep her work popular?
There is much more that could be said, but I don't want to be tedious. This example should give you an idea of the kind of false doctrines we are facing today. Rhapsody of Realities is a popular devotional (because it sidesteps sin), but it is only one piece of a "Rhapsody" of bad doctrine. Be careful what you are feeding upon for your spiritual food.
"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before." -Matthew 24:23-25.
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