Depending on the church you attend and your doctrinal beliefs, people feel they should give anywhere from nothing up to a huge portion of what they earn.  Most though hold to ten percent of their income as Tithe, but often this can turn into a battle of is that “before or after taxes”?  Some think it should be thirty percent of your income.  There are even some that believe because the Pharisees in Luke 18:12 said he “give tithes of all that I possess”, so they say you must pay ten percent of all you own (let’s hope you do not have a really nice home).

There are those that think we owe God nothing, or as they put it, tithing was under the Law and we are not under the Law.  To that, Adam and Eve come to mind where they could have all of the garden but of one tree, it was to them a part of the blessing that was reserved by God and they were not to touch.  Then we have Abraham paying tithes.  Later we have Jacob promising God that he would give a tenth part of everything God gives him.  These are all before the Law.

Okay, so what do you give in an offering, ten percent, thirty percent or perhaps whatever we fill like when the mood strikes us?  Where do we give the tithes?

Let’s see if we can answer that last question first.  Scripture says:

Mal 3:8-11 ~  Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.  Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

It seems the tithe, should go to your local church in order to take care of its needs and enable it to be a blessing to others.  What if you do not go to church?  Well, I was in that position once and what I did was simply to give to different ministries.  After I found a local church though, the tithe always went to the local church and I continued to send my offerings to the other ministries. 

What offerings, isn’t that the tithe?  Well, there is the tithe, but there is also offerings, that giving from your heart beyond the old requirement of a tithe.  For me, I have a set amount of offerings on top of tithe which is sent out to all those other ministries.  This is just part of my life, I do not consider any part of the tithe or offering as mine, it is simple passed through me.

Some may say I cannot afford tithes, let alone offerings.  When I hear those kinds of things, my thoughts go to the question, how is your walk with God?  It would seem that if you really love God and you are passionate about your relationship with Him, giving should be a simply part of our “reasonable service” as from Romans 12:1-2.  We should be happy to give unto God and see His work on this earth grow and be partakers in helping others.  If this is not the case, then we need to examine our relationship with Him and see where we are failing.

Now that all this have been said, on to the reason for this post.  Today I was thanking God the money to give and that I wish it could be more.  Then a thought passed my mind and I told him that I was sorry I required so much for my own.  Giving that more thought, I realized that I often look at this all wrong. 

My view is the tithe and offerings going to God and I have all that left over for my own life to do with as I please.  Perhaps I should be looking at it from a different perspective, such as my needs being met along with some level of comfort, but the money which is left over that really has no purpose, the extra, perhaps that should also be for God’s work.

I Remembered the parable in Luke about the man who had great increase:

Luk 12:16-21 ~ And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

He had increase far above his own needs, to the point he had plenty for a long time and no place to put this overflow, but in reality he should have used that increase to help others who might have lacked.  Instead, he was looking at only his own needs and in the process lost out on everything.  This reminds me of the Manna, that came down from heaven and feed the children of Israel for forty years.  If they gathered more than they would need for a single day, it would spoil the next day except for the Sabbath, which the day before they were to gather twice as much so they would not have to work on the Sabbath.

It seems that our overflow is given to us to work the things of God, which is also a great blessing for us, or at least it is our opportunity to do so, however we want to look at it.

Maybe I am not noticing the glass half full, but I am having a hard time understanding this current Christian world.  On the surface, it seems that a large number of people are trying to live as close as they can to the world instead of trying to live as close as they can to God.

For and example, there are Christian musicians that either look and/or act like the secular bands (such as rock, hip-hop, etc) and claim they are trying to reach those that others do not reach.  I have to wonder if that is really the focus or perhaps there are issues they have not yet dealt with in their lives which allow their fleshly desires to justify their apparent secular longings.  We could justify such actions but would it not be better to focus on charging up the “church” and having them go out and win those souls.  Or even see the true power of God come back into the church and no longer need to go out and fetch them in, they will knock down the door to get in the churches.

Recently, a minister I have seen a bit decided for some reason to get a Christian tattoo (one with Christian symbols).  Right out of the gate here, I will say I do not believe that ANYONE who claims to be a Christian should go out and get ANY kind of tattoo.  That desire should not be in them and if it is, there is probably a root cause that needs to be dealt with, we should not be in that type of carnality!

There were a few other things that started to change a bit with him.  Now I find that he is growing his hair out down to his shoulders.  When I saw him, I would have equated him with a person in a mission or street person.  Okay, some will give that line above that maybe it is to reach some of those that others cannot reach.  I still find it hard to believe that a mature grounded Christian would desire to mark up their body for any reason, or find the need to look just like the darker side of life, more like those that do not know God.  It is not the tattoo nor the hair (I had long hair when I was first saved and continued until I met my wife who did not like it, but it was all I knew, it was not a change to try looking rebellious), it is more a seeming insecurity or whatever brought this change.  Maybe there is a cry for help in there shown by the desire for these changes.

Yep, here it comes:

Rom 12:1-2 ~ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are not to be conformed to this world.  In other places we are called to be holy, to abstain from all “appearances” of evil, to be called out from among them, that we should walk with a newness of life.   If we are truly “Born Again”, then there should be a new life in us, we should not have any desire for the darker, rebellious things of this world.  We are “Saints in Light” and should strive to promote this, not the darker things of this world.

I once had a Christian man tell me a story when he had his pastor come over for dinner and he asked him what he wanted to drink, he made a joke about asking him if he wanted a beer and kind of looked at me odd as if he would have had one for him.  It is not an issue of drinking or not drinking beer, it is the rebellious joy that seemed to radiate from him as he told the story, more of one flirting with the edge of destruction.  This should not be in us as Christians, Christ followers, those that have been Born Again.  This is exactly what needs to be crucified every day, we need to put this away from us.

There are many things I battle in my Christian walk, and the fleshly man is there just ready to take over.  I know I deal with things like pride, anger, frustration, greed, lust for things I know I do not need and the list goes on.  But we have to pray and yield more of ourselves to God so that He can fill those parts with His presence and keep those fleshly traits put down.

We are the people of God, we need to act like it.  When we see Christians leaning over to these errors, we need to help them if possible, but for sure we need to pray for them.  This kind of immaturity in the Body of the Christ is hindering the move of God and thus people suffer because of it.

It is time that everyone who calls themselves Christian, should strive for Holiness and not only get our lives cleaned up, but even rid ourselves of every appearance of  evil!

Come on people, the time is to short to be playing games, we need to get the Body of the Christ built up and ready for battle.  The world is in bad shape and getting worse, it is time to bring the light into this dark world, we cannot do that if we do not shine!  If the world can not tell any difference between us and them, then there is no light..

Tonight, while listening to Kenneth Copeland’s grandson, Jeremy Pearsons talk on faith, I was moved by the power of some statements that often find their way into our minds, but we seem to look at them from the wrong perspective.  The message is basically trying to force us to keep our eye on the fact that our faith is in Jesus the Christ and is where it needs to stay.

In his teaching, Jeremy would take the word Faith when used and add “In Jesus the Christ” to the end of it.  So, instead of “have faith”, it would be “have faith in Jesus the Christ”.  Sounds simple enough with many common phrases, but then he hit one that opened my eyes a bit to point he was making.  In his example, instead of saying “I am not sure I have faith enough for .. “ would be replaced with “I am not sure I have faith enough in Jesus the Christ for ..”.  This is really what is being said, but it is much more palatable in the former method as it does not directly invoke Jesus.

One of my recent eye openers over the last six months was the passage in Mark 9:24 where the man who had a devil possessed boy brought him to the disciples, but they could not cast the devils out.  Jesus said to him “if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth”.  The man then replied (out of the new Living Translation), “I do believe, but help me not to doubt”.  When I came upon this translation it made more sense since the other versions which typically translated like “I believe but help my unbelief” which did not seem clear.  When I saw the use of doubts, I realized that you can believe in something but still have doubts that you need to work out.  The only problem here is that it still leaves an open door for that “who knows” feeling and that someday, just maybe we will overcome our doubts.  We do not really consider what we are doubting about or doubting in.

By applying the above principle, we would have to ask ourselves doubt in what?  We have faith IN something we also have doubts IN something.  In the end of the day, it comes down to doubts that Jesus will do as promised.  So, we then see the problem is that we do not trust that God will fulfill His Word.  This gives us a direction to seek God to eliminate error in us and forces us into His Word to find more proof so that we will believe.

Way back when in the 40’s and 50’s, my grandfather was a minister and I managed to get a few of his services that were on reel-to-reel tape.  In one service, he was talking about what we have placed our faith in, that all of us walk in faith, but what is that which we place our faith on.  This moved around in my mind back a number of years ago and I realized that many people have built for themselves there own gods.  For some it is a god of supposed science where evolution and the unknown allows them to live without worry of what comes after this life.  Others have made a god of desire, living a hedonistic lifestyle merely to fulfill their own pleasure without regard to others or a greater good.  There are even those that may call themselves Christians that have created a god they claim is the God the Bible describers, but they leave out the attributes that are unpleasing to them, in the god they have created, often making a god that allows a believer to live as they please without any demands upon them and in the end, their god is not a god of justice nor morality, but one that leads again to a hedonistic lifestyle washing you from all conviction.

Anyone can create whatever kind of god they so desire, but when this life is over and often even throughout this life, they miss out as their god is nothing more than a thought they cared to imagination.  They will at one time or another come face-to-face with the true God of the Bible and it will not matter how good they were nor what they did in the name of their imaginary god, they will move into eternity without God and face everlasting damnation.

So, in what or whom have you placed your faith?  May it only be on the God of the Bible without modification nor emulations, for it is only this God that will give you peace and life with Him. 

On September 29th, 2008 the Dow Jones Industrial average dropped its biggest single day point drop in history.  This was not the record percentage drop, but the record actual point drop.

There is a large percentage of people very concerned with the future with all the economic uncertainty along with many other spiritual, social, economical and governmental woes we are currently witnessing.   In the natural, the future seems a bit bleak and for some, a fearful part of their lives.  Fortunes are being lost and a many are watching their retirement funds dropping like a brick.

While at a prayer meeting recently, a brother pointed something out which confirmed what I had noticed.  Some may say it is just a coincidence, but what are the real odds in seeing a record set with a 777 (plus a little change) point drop?  It was not 776, nor 778, but 777!  To much of the world that does not mean anything, but to us Christians, that is a very meaningful number since it is two of the most important numbers in the Bible.  We all know that three is important for the trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Most Christians also recognize the seven as God’s number of completion such as the seven days of creation, the seven Spirits before God (read the Book of the Revelation and find the number’s significance).

On such a dark day to our economy and after so many people have been in distress worried about the economic future, it was much like God was saying, “Do not worry, have faith for I am in control and I will take care of and provide for your”.  It is not a word or prophecy or anything like that, it is just a point to be noticed and a reminder that we should have our faith in God and not in the things of this world. 

We as Christians do not have to worry about our futures, we are supposed to trust in God, knowing that He loves us and has our future in His capable hands.  Our part is simple, place our trust in Him and walk in His light and He will be with us and provide as the situation demands.  After all, He loves us and only wants what is best for us.  We only have to read our Bibles and see example after example of God’s faithfulness to those that walk in His ways and are His.

Psa 37:18-19 ~ The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.