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Martin Luther on our Hearts
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Apr 21, 2007 7:17 am
Mood: contemplative,
460 Views
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Take a look at your own heart, and you will soon find out what has stuck to it and where your treasure is. It is easy to determine whether hearing the Word of God, living according to it, and achieving such a life gives you as much enjoyment and calls forth as much diligence from you as does accumulating and saving money and property.
Martin Luther
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Has tithing been Abolished?
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Apr 20, 2007 8:23 am
Mood: contemplative,
556 Views
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Some people teach that the New Testament does not teach about tithing and therefore it is no longer required. But is this really true? What is recorded of Jesus’ teaching in our New Testament in general reflects those things that were different and new that His people did not understand and reinforcement of some things they did understand and practice. In general, Jesus did not discuss those things, which were understood and put into practice correctly. His teaching was to correct and get the people to behave and live the way God wanted them to live.
Mathew records Jesus stating, “17"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18"For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19"Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:17)” It was the legalistic manner in which the Pharisees practiced the Law without regard to justice or mercy that Jesus taught against, as both Matthew and Luke record, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. (Matt. 23:23 and Luke 11:42) Notice Jesus talks about tithing here and says they should also practiced justice, mercy and faithfulness “without neglecting the others.” Jesus does not tell them to stop tithing. He tells them to also practice bring just and merciful and faithful. And what does “without neglecting the others,” mean in this context? Part of the others is identified in this verse when Jesus describes them tithing dill and cumin. What Jesus is teaching, is that they are to continue tithing but also practice justice, mercy and faithfulness.
In the Hebrew culture, what is not said is often as important and sometimes more important than what is not said. When Jesus “looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. 2And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. 3And He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; 4for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on." (Luke 21:1-4)” If the tithe was no longer a valid practice we would expect Jesus to say something like, “go and get those coins and give them back to the poor widow, because she can not afford to give that much.” But Jesus says nothing like this. His comment was not directed at stopping the tithe, but the amount people give from what they have. In fact, Jesus encouraged the practice of tithing when he stated, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." (Matt. 2:21) This implies were to give back to God from what He has given us.
Matthew wrote, “12And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13And He said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER'; but you are making it a ROBBERS' DEN." In these verses it is clear that Jesus is against the buying and selling that was happening and it is these people he drove out of the Temple area. But, there is no comment here against tithing. If Jesus was eliminating this practice we would expect to read something like “Jesus told the people that they no longer needed to tithe or make offerings.” But there is silence on this issue and this silence, which Biblical scholars call reticence, This silence in conjunction with what Jesus taught about the Law, underscored that the practice of the tithe and offering were not being eliminated.
No where in the Old or New Testament does it teach us not to tithe. If tithing was no longer a valid discipline the New Testament Church was to stop practicing, it would seem that somebody would have written for Christians to stop tithing. But there is no teaching like this recorded in the Bible. Jesus did not teach the tithe was abolished and neither did Paul or any other New Testament author. Paul addressed tithing in his epistles stating, “7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Cor. 9 vr. 7 ). This teaching encourages the idea of tithing. Paul even suggests that we plan and save to be able to tithe. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, 1Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. 3When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem (1 Cor. 16:1-3)”
So what did the early Christian church teach about tithing? The only Scriptures that were available when Paul wrote, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16), in 56 AD were the Old Testament (OT). The New Testament (NT) was not compiled for another 250 years after Paul wrote about the OT being the inspired word of God. Paul wrote this, because some Christians questioned the validity of the OT with the new revelations of Christ. And like Christ had previously spoken, “not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished,” Paul reassures people that the OT is “inspired by God” and that they should still use it to teach, correct and train others. Therefore, the teachings of the OT on tithing were the accepted standards on tithing. The practice of tithing was taught and never challenged in the writings of the Early church fathers (100-300 AD). It has only been in the last few hundred years that people have challenged the discipline of tithing, and we have to wonder if their challenge is more of an attempt to justify not tithing than correctly understanding and doing the will of god.
Paul tells us the OT is inspired and profitable for teaching, correction and instruction, but just what does the OT specifically teach on tithing? The OT teaches we are to tithe and neither Jesus nor Paul or any other NT author ever taught that the discipline of tithing had been abolished. The prophet Malachi wrote, 8"Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. 9"You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you 10"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”
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How areTWISTING and TRUSTING God related?
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Apr 19, 2007 8:17 am
Mood: peaceful,
488 Views
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Whether we are reading the newspaper, listening to the radio, or watching TV, the news is filled with tales of discouragement and despair. Life is like a continuous newsreel showing the futile actions of people trying to survive the stressful situations they face without much hope. We would think it should be different for us Christians, but even many of us are overwhelmed with feels of frustration, discouragement and even anger when we are not solidly focused on God to provide our defense and refuge. Regardless of the difficulties of our days and our lack of understanding of His ways, God is not indifferent to our needs. Our LORD cares and desires to for His people to experience His comfort. Isaiah wrote words of encouragement, stating:
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired His understanding is inscrutable. 29He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. 30Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, 31Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. (Isa. 40:28-31 )
To have our strength renewed we must learn to wait on the Lord. But, what does waiting on the Lord mean? “Those who wait” is a participle of continual action. It refers to one who is characterized by waiting. “Wait” is translated from the Hebrew qawah, which means “to trust, hope, or have confidence in.” Originally qawah meant “to twist or bind.” It was used of the twisting process employed in the making of a rope, which of course, produces an instrument or a tool that is strong and capable of holding a heavy weight.
Those who wait in true faith are renewed in strength so that they can continue to serve the Lord while looking for His saving work knowing that there will come a time when all that God has promised will be realized and fulfilled. In the meantime the believer who waits survives by counting on God’s goodness, love, and wisdom. Remember, we are instruments of God, vessels that He uses to carry out His purposes. Focusing on our God and the many truths of His Word is like weaving and twisting threads into a rope; it develops courage, strength, and endurance. The result? We are formed into an instrument that God can use for His Glory, for which we were created and redeemed.
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Secret Formula of Saints: on Grief, Suffering and Affliction
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Apr 18, 2007 7:41 pm
Mood: contemplative,
367 Views
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The secret formula of the saints: When I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord's choicest wines.
Samuel Rutherford
The winter prepares the earth for the spring, so do afflictions sanctified prepare the soul for glory.
Richard Sibbes
As the wicked are hurt by the best things, so the godly are bettered by the worst.
William Jenkyn
I am mended by my sickness, enriched by my poverty, and strengthened by my weakness.... Thus was it with.... Manasseh, when he was in affliction, "He besought the Lord his God": even that king's iron was more precious to him than his gold, his jail a more happy lodging than his palace, Babylon a better school than Jerusalem. What fools are we, then, to frown upon our afflictions! These, how crabbed soever, are our best friends. They are not indeed for our pleasure, they are for our profit.
Abraham Wright
God sweetens outward pain with inward peace.
Thomas Watson
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Supreme Court Decides on Partial Birth Abortion Ban
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Apr 18, 2007 7:59 am
Mood: hopeful,
307 Views
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The Supreme Court upheld the nationwide ban on a controversial abortion procedure Wednesday, handing abortion opponents the long-awaited victory they expected from a more conservative bench. The 5-4 ruling said the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act that Congress passed and President Bush signed into law in 2003 does not violate a woman's constitutional right to an abortion.
The opponents of the act "have not demonstrated that the Act would be unconstitutional in a large fraction of relevant cases," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion. Kennedy's dissent in 2000 was so strong that few court watchers expected him to take a different view of the current case. The decision pitted the court's conservatives against its liberals, with President Bush's two appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, siding with the majority. Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia also were in the majority.
It was the first time the court banned a specific procedure in a case over how — not whether — to perform an abortion. Abortion rights groups have said the procedure sometimes is the safest for a woman. They also said that such a ruling could threaten most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, although government lawyers and others who favor the ban said there are alternate, more widely used procedures that remain legal.
The outcome is likely to spur efforts at the state level to place more restrictions on abortions.
More than 1 million abortions are performed in the United States each year, according to recent statistics. Nearly 90 percent of those occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and are not affected by Wednesday's ruling.
Six federal courts have said the law that was in focus Wednesday is an impermissible restriction on a woman's constitutional right to an abortion. The law bans a method of ending a pregnancy, rather than limiting when an abortion can be performed.
"Today's decision is alarming," Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in dissent. She said the ruling "refuses to take ... seriously" previous Supreme Court decisions on abortion. Ginsburg said the latest decision "tolerates, indeed applauds, federal intervention to ban nationwide a procedure found necessary and proper in certain cases by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists." She was joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, David Souter and John Paul Stevens.
The procedure at issue involves partially removing the fetus intact from a woman's uterus, then crushing or cutting its skull to complete the abortion.
Abortion opponents say the law will not reduce the number of abortions performed because an alternate method — dismembering the fetus in the uterus — is available and, indeed, much more common.
In 2000, the court with key differences in its membership struck down a state ban on partial-birth abortions. Writing for a 5-4 majority at that time, Justice Breyer said the law imposed an undue burden on a woman's right to make an abortion decision.
The Republican-controlled Congress responded in 2003 by passing a federal law that asserted the procedure is gruesome, inhumane and never medically necessary to preserve a woman's health. That statement was designed to overcome the health exception to restrictions that the court has demanded in abortion cases.
But federal judges in California, Nebraska and New York said the law was unconstitutional, and three appellate courts agreed. The Supreme Court accepted appeals from California and Nebraska, setting up Wednesday's ruling.
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Charles Spurgeon: Words of Comfort in our Grief
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Apr 17, 2007 5:45 pm
Mood: hopeful,
294 Views
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Jesus feels for thee; Jesus consoles thee; Jesus will help thee. No monarch in his impregnable fortress is more secure than the rabbit in His rocky burrow. The Master of ten thousand chariots is not one whit better protected than the little dweller in the mountain's cleft. In Jesus the weak are strong, and the defenseless safe; they could not be more strong if they were giants, or more safe if they were in heaven. Faith gives to men on earth the protection of the God of heaven. More they cannot need, and need not wish. I cannot make myself a refuge, but Jesus has provided it, His Father has given it, His Spirit has revealed it, and lo, again tonight I enter it, and am safe from every foe.
Charles Spurgeon
These words and the Psalm below have given me comfort and I pray that God uses them to comfort you.
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
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They got mad as H#@%!
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Apr 16, 2007 8:24 am
Mood: calm,
315 Views
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Everyday we are confronted by situations that stress us out or even push us to the point of loosing our temper or reacting in anger. Standing in long lines, driving in heavy traffic, etc. seem to push a lot of our buttons to the point where we want to react and let the other person know how mad they have mad us and what we really feel about them. Solomon said, “An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.” Prov. (29:22 ) Reacting in anger does not make things any better, it usually makes them worse. Consider the cases of road rage where a person ends up being shot or killed.
Anger and jealousy are real emotions needing real healthy coping skills to address them so that we can be rational , peace loving, healthy, wholesome, and Godly. Solomon wrote that a “man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense” (Prov 19:11 ) To deal with our anger in a healthy way, we must be patient and take our time, so that we do not rush to express our anger. Wait until you have gotten the worse emotional overtones resolved on your own so that you can be calm, cool and collected as you confront the other person with your anger under control.
If you deal with your anger in a healthy way, your anger will not control you. If you do not control your anger in a healthy way it could control you and you then would be more prone to stir up contention, fights, misunderstandings, and a lot of division and dissension among those involved. You will be stronger and healthier as a person if you deal with your anger in a healthy way. You might not conquer the world but by conquering your emotional life you will be a pillar of strength and health and a role model of “Godly Living” for others.
There was little boy with a bad temper, His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail in the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad a physical one."
If we make peace in the world by dealing with our anger in a healthy way, we can often make forgiving gestures to those who have wronged or angered us and reconcile conflicts peacefully. I know it is much easier said than done. But if we can apply the lesson the father taught his son about pounding and removing nails to our own lives, through our choices and with the help the LORD, we can gradually gain victory over our desire to act out in anger.
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Content or Discontent?
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Apr 15, 2007 12:01 pm
Mood: contemplative,
444 Views
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Paul rejoiced in the midst of trials. While in prison he encouraged the Philippians to, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
It is our choice as it was Paul's choice on how we face our trials and circumstances. Paul advises us to petition God with thanksgiving and trust that He will meet our needs. In addition Paul encourages us to think about excellent, praiseworthy, true, pure and admirable things. By putting Paul's suggestions into practice we can learn to rejoice in the midst of our circumstances.
Matthew Henry wrote, "Discontent is a sin that is its own punishment and makes men torment themselves; it makes the spirit sad, the body sick, and all the enjoyments sour; it is the heaviness of the heart and the rottenness of the bones. It is a sin that is its own parent. It arises not from the condition, but from the mind. As Paul was content in a prison (Phil. 2), so King Ahab was discontent in a palace"
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Hitler’s Pawn, An Amazing Story
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Apr 14, 2007 8:56 am
Mood: impressed,
401 Views
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I saw the Documentary Hitler’s Pawn on HBO and it brought tears to my eyes. It is the true story of a Jewish athlete, then called Gretel Bergmann, who was used by the Nazi propaganda machine to get the USA to come to the 1936 Berlin Olympic games. Born in Germany in 1914, Gretel developed into a superior athlete during the late '20s and '30s, excelling in the high jump. In 1933, Adolf Hitler came to power and the persecution of the Jews began. Her dream of competing for Germany in the Olympics was clouded by the rise of the Nazi Party early in the 1930s, when Jewish athletes were being expelled from German sports clubs. Bergmann was kicked out of her sports organization and was not allowed to compete at all. By 1935, her father had shipped her to England with the hope of her becoming a member of the England Track and Field team, and to also get her away from the Nazi's.
Hitler and the other Nazi's in the high command were trying to secure the Olympics that had been given to the Weimer Republic in 1931. Under some international scrutiny, the Nazi propaganda machine was forced to show that Jews would be apart of the German team. The Nazi's forced Bergmann's father to go to England and bring her back to Germany with the aspiration of becoming a competitor for the German Olympic team. When she came back and without telling her, the Nazi's gave her name to the American press and others, to show that Bergmann, a Jew, and other Jewish athletes would be competing on the German team. Because of this and other similar events, the American's decided to go to Berlin and compete in the Olympics.
When Gretel returned only one German on the Olympic team would talk with her. Feeling alone and manipulated she became angry and used her anger to feed her jumping ability. In her last competition before the Olympics she high jumped 1.6 meters, beating her German competitors by 8” and tied the German record. Immediately after the USA’s Olympic team left on board a ship for Germany, Bergmann and most of the other Jewish Athlete's were told that they were not chosen to participate in the games. One woman was chosen because she was only half Jewish and a Christian.
Gretel was clearly the best high jumper in Germany, and her personal best jump from a couple of weeks before was the same as the gold medallist’s jump at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The best German woman high jumper came in 3rd place. She was fortunate that these things happened to her in the early 1930's because she left Germany shortly after the Olympics and came to America. After a few years in America she read the newspaper articles about her being on the team and realized what had been done. Her father was sent to a concentration camp a few years later and after 4 months was told to leave Germany or be killed, so he left and came to America.
Gretel now goes by the name Margaret Lambert and has been married for 68 years. Her husband (Lambert) said it was only because Hitler used her as a pawn to get the USA to come to the 1936 Olympics that they met, became married and had two sons. In 2003 for the first time, Margaret went back to Germany where she saw the one woman on the team who talked with her. They had a very nice reunion. After this she was taken to a new Sport’s Stadium that had been named in her honor, to show German’s the need for relationships between all races. Margaret said it brought tears to her eyes and she knew all the hate she had felt was not worth it, so she had let it go. For her going back was a time of forgiveness and healing. It was this attitude of forgiveness and the healing that touched me.
After the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, He told them, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you." [Ex. 15 verse 26 ] There is forgiveness and redemption for all of us, we just need to choose to appropriate it as Margaret did.
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Controversy and Peace
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Apr 13, 2007 7:57 am
Mood: contemplative,
343 Views
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A lot of the stories on the News lately have made me think about Peace and Forgiveness. The following are some quotes I enjoy on PEACE.
Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.
Baruch Spinoza
If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.
Moshe Dayan
First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.
Thomas a Kempis
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