Gratitude

Gratitude. The state of being grateful which is being appreciative of benefits received. We have certainly received benefits. We take so many for granted.

Think about Hurricane Sandy and the value of the electric company to those without power in the last couple weeks. We need electricity for so many things...lights, refrigeration, heat, tv, internet, charging cell phones, etc. Yet, people complain all the time about the power bill. I've done it. I'm not saying you can't wish it were lower, but we should be grateful to get so much in exchange for so little. Think about all the benefits you receive from electricity. It's really a great trade.

There's a saying, "you don't know what you've got til it's gone." Those people on the east coast are learning that lesson.

We have to change our thinking, shift our focus. We need more gratitude in our lives, our families, our churches and our society. In fact, scripture tells us that we no longer have to wonder "what is God's will for my life?", but rather, we fulfill God's will with gratitude.

(1Th 5:18) In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

One of my favorite Lewis quotes

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell." --C. S. Lewis

Oh Lord I feel so barren and ashamed of who I am
How I often fell
I hid it well
A lie I cannot defend
So I lean upon Your mercy
As I confess my sin to You
It is no easy way
No saving face
When you finally see the truth
Let my life be filled with only You


I know someday I will be free
The weight of sin shall be released
But for now He covers me
And though the trials never end
I learn to take them as my friend
For each day He covers me


Sometimes the pressure builds around me
And I feel about to break
I suffer patiently from wrongs done to me
But vengeance isn't mine to take
Let me glory in my weakness
Until Your strength's revealed in me
It is Your grace alone that helps me carry on
To be the man I long to be
Let Your life be perfected in me
(You're the Light) Until it's You they see


And though heartache surrounds me
I know Your love is around me
Nothing can separate me from You
Oh Lord I know it's true

The reason Creflo thinks about shooting people if they don't pay tithe is because that's his cash cow.  That's how he makes money.  He believes he's entitled to 10 percent of your income and it pisses him off when he can't take it from you. 

Musings on tithe and Deuteronomy 14

When you begin to study what the bible has to say on the subject of tithe, you'll find some pretty interesting information.  Of course, that's the problem isn't it?  Most people are unwilling to study the bible or anything else for that matter.  We don't want to invest the time to find the truth.  It's not that important to us.  Instead, we take the word of the paid clergy (no conflict of interest there) on what the bible has to say about our money.  We're suckers.  We take advice from men and women that are at best sincerely incompetent and at worst devious hucksters. 

Let me get back to what I was saying about tithe.  I challenge you to read Deuteronomy chapter 14, paying special attention to verse 22 and beyond which deals with the tithe, and you'll find some curious instructions.  Here's verse 26 :

(KJV)  "And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,"

So, you've converted your tithe to money for traveling according to the earlier verses, and when you get there you can buy whatever YOU want with the money, even wine and beer.  What???  Read it.  It says "whatsoever thy soul desireth".  It says to eat the food you've purchased with that money.  You eat it.

I know.  I know.  This will mess with your theology.

Don't take my word for it.  Study to show your self approved.  As you do, I believe you'll see the absurdity of placing these things on Christians.

And I'm not encouraging drunkenness or any craziness, but this is the problem with those teaching tithe to new testament christians.  They're teaching religious law and they're teaching it incomplete.  That doesn't work.  If you're righteousness is by the law, then you'd better keep it all.  Christians are in Christ.  He is their righteousness.  They don't keep these religious laws.  If they want to give or they feel led to give, they give.  Period.  No quotas, no percentages.  Just freedom.

Easter

I believe HE is risen. I choose this idea. I embrace it with my heart for I cannot bear to imagine a universe ordered any other way.

Romans 10:9-10
King James Version (KJV)

... 9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

"Sheep"

Church, just because the Bible refers to you as "sheep" doesn't mean you have to be as dumb as one - it is a metaphor...

According to Wikipedia, "A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that describes a subject by asserting that it is, on some point of comparison, the same as another otherwise unrelated object. Metaphor is a type of analogy and is closely related to other rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via association, comparison or resemblance including allegory, hyperbole, and simile."

So now, you must ask yourself, at what "point of comparison" am I like a sheep? or at what "point of comparison" does God want me to be like sheep?

You see, the thing is, you're not really sheep.  So you better find out what that means and stop walking around like you have to obey everything the leadership of your particular organization says and does because in the end, you are responsible for being a part of it.

Stop acting like you have no choice.

You have mind.  You have will.  Study to show your self approved.

Think about it.

Thank you C.S. Lewis

 I first read C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" when I was 17 and it had a tremendous impact on me.  I read it and re-read it.  The logic was so pure.  I was already following Christ but had many questions.  Lewis fed my mind and strengthened my faith.

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." – Mere Christianity, pages 40-41.

Quick word about e-Sword Bible software

I've been using e-sword bible software for about 7-8 years now and my experience has been fantastic.  The application is very intuitive and easy to use and jam packed with functionality.  It is a great resource for serious or casual bible students everywhere and best of all it's free.  That's right, it doesn't cost a dime, it's free to use forever.  This ministry lives by Matthew 10:8 "Freely you received, now freely give."  The software download comes the KJV with Strong's concordance and you can add other bible versions, commentaries, dictionaries, tools, etc.  There are a few add on components that charge a one time fee such as Vine's Expository Dictionary or The Amplified Bible, but these are not required to run the program.  Click here for e-Sword now.    e-Sword has been downloaded in over 225 countries across 6 continents, I encourage you to support this ministry with your prayers and free will giving.
I do NOT receive any compensation now or in the future from e-Sword or affiliates for promoting e-Sword bible software, it's just a great resource that I've enjoyed and I hope others do as well.

Spurgeon on Grace

If heaven were by merit, it would never be heaven to me, for if I were in it I should say, “I am sure I am here by mistake; I am sure this is not my place; I have no claim to it.” But if it be of grace and not of works, then we may walk into heaven with boldness.
-- C.H. Spurgeon

Galatians 5

New International Version (NIV)

Freedom in Christ

 ¹ It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.  ² Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³ Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴ You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵ For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
 ⁷ You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? ⁸ That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹ “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” ¹⁰ I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. ¹¹ Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. ¹² As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

So what is Paul talking about here?  He is addressing, as he does in the whole book of Galatians, the different approaches to God, law or grace, and the consequences of each method.  He had preached the gospel of grace to the Galatians and they received it, but then something happened.  Through the influence of Jewish adherents, the Galatian believers began to turn to their performance to please God.  The problem with doing that is then you are relying on your good behavior to save you and if you bring your behavior into the mix then all of it counts, good and bad.  You don't get to cherry pick the good stuff to present to God.  As Paul says, you are "obligated to the whole law."

If you are relying on anything other than Christ for righteousness, he can not help you.  His work means nothing for you.  You see, you can't have law AND grace.  They are exclusive of each other.  If you count on the law or some religious behavior to prove your worthiness to God, then you have to keep all the law.  You get served a great big LAW sandwich and have to swallow every bite and you better fall short anywhere .  OR you can choose Grace and trust completely on the finished work of Christ to save you and make you right in God's eyes therefore restoring you into the Kingdom of God's Son with all the rights and privileges of a son of God.

Now, does this mean our behavior doesn't matter?  Of course not!  There are obviously societal consequences for our actions and life rewards good decisions, but Christians seek good works to demonstrate the inward life that's already present not to earn or prove they deserve eternal life.  It's a completely different outlook.  

Is Tithing Biblical?

Well for starters, the question "Is tithing biblical" is very misleading and really gets us going on a false premise.  Lots of things are "biblical", meaning they ARE in the bible.  The bible talks about animal sacrifices, circumcision, and a host of other subjects.  Some accounts are good and some are bad.  Some people would have you believe that if something is in the bible, it is automatically validated and then it applies to everyone.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In some cases, the bible is simply giving a historical account for our knowledge and growth.  At other times, God is giving specific instruction to that group of people.  We must study and think.  Who is speaking and who are they speaking to?  Where are they and what is going on?  We have to look at everything in context and this requires the church to think.  We must be thinkers.  It's not enough to rely on the clergy to serve you up your weekly bible snack.  Feed yourself!

So, the REAL question is not "Is tithing biblical?", but rather, Is tithing new covenant?  or Is it Christian?

Those are two distinctly different positions. Yes, tithing was definitely part of the Law (as was circumcision, sabbath keeping, ceremonial washings, etc.)  as applied to the Jews, but it was never a part of the early Christian church.  Romans 8:4 is one of the many places that tells us that Christ fulfilled the full requirement of the law for us.

If you want to learn the truth about this, then look for more posts, audios, videos, BUT most important study and pray.  Show your self approved.   I encourage you and challenge you to pursue the truth.