Tithing

Tithing, Giving and the Scriptures [Part 4]

Posted on by Dianne

THE CODIFIED LAW (The Written Law of Moses)

Tithing Instituted as Part of the Covenant (Leviticus 27:30-34)

30″ ‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. 31If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it. 32The entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the Lord. 33He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.’ ” 34These are the commands the Lord gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites.

Under the law, one tenth of everything from the land—plant or animal—was considered holy and belonged to God. This portion could be redeemed, but a fifth part of the value had to be added. There could be no substitutions or alterations (switch one cow for another, for instance; if you tried and someone found out, both would be considered part of the tithe). It wasn’t until Numbers 18 (following) that further instruction was given in regard to implementing the tithe; what to do with the cows, grain, etc.

General

Believers in Kenya need help

Posted on by Dianne

Our Brother Samuel in Kenya has asked for financial help to buy food for his family, church and the homeless families and orphans they are caring for. Most of them survived the recent post-election civil war, and had hoped to begin rebuilding their homes and communites, but now the food shortages are so great that there are demonstrations and riots against the government.

Here’s the contact information to send money via Western Union:

Samuel Asonga Atema

Kenya

You will need to supply a “Test Question & Answer” for security purposes [example: name of dog / Spot].

Then email the MTCN number and “Test Question & Answer” to samuelasonga@yahoo.com. He will not be able to receive your gift unless he has all the information.

Any amount would be appreciated, suggest min. $25.

If you would rather not contact him directly you can send gift to me via paypal [you do not need to ‘join’ paypal in order to use their services–look for ‘Don’t have a PayPal account?’] and I will forward via Western Union. I have set up a separate paypal account for this purpose: wecanprepare@gmail.com. Here’s a link:


Thanks.

Hedz Up

[Hedz Up] Teaching Moments

Posted on by Dianne

This week keep an eye out for little moments the Lord uses to get your attention, internally or circumstantially. He may stir old desires or ideas, spark new directions, and/or solve problems in unusual ways. These will be fleeting moments. Once noticed and engaged, these teaching moments may expand into complex projects. His desire is that we remain attentive even to the subtlest glimpses of His Presence within our peripheral vision.

Have a great week!

Tithing

Tithing, Giving and the Scriptures [Part 3]

Posted on by Dianne

PRE-CODIFICATION OF THE LAW

Abram (Genesis 14:17-20)

17And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale. 18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

Abram gave a tithe, or one-tenth, of everything he had to Melchizedek, king of Salem. So if Abram had 600 sheep, 450 cows, 316 goats and 800 pieces of silver, Abram gave Melchizedek 60 sheep, 45 cows, 31.6 goats and 80 pieces of silver. “Giving” is the verb, “tithe” is a quantity. Who commanded, or told, Abram to do it? As far as we know, nobody. How many times did he do it? As far as we know, this was a one-time-deal. Why did he do it? To bless “the most high God.” This was his grateful response to the Lord blessing Him, not as a part of a covenantal relationship, to fulfill a commandment, to incur blessing or prevent consequences.

Abram didn’t tithe; Abram gave!

Jacob (Genesis 28:10-22)

10And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. 11And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

16And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. 17And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. 20And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: 22And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

In Genesis 28:22 the same word used above as “tithe” is translated “tenth.” In response to the promises of the Lord, Jacob makes up his own covenant. Even though God never asked for it, Jacob says that if God will take care of him, and bless him, he will, when he has arrived safely home again, give Him a tenth of everything he has. This reveals more the difficulty Jacob had in receiving unconditionally from God rather than a reflection of God’s heart and intentions toward him.

God never told Jacob to do anything! Nonetheless, Jacob made a vow, that at some point in time he would give a tenth of everything God blessed him with back to Him. We have no record of his carrying out the “giving” part, though God certainly blessed Him as He had said.

Summary of the Tithe before the Law was Written Down

1. In both of these instances, God never commanded anyone to “tithe.” There was no covenant. Later, God did indeed make a covenant with Abram; God made many promises to Abram and his successive generations. All Abram had to do was circumcise his sons.

2. The law had yet to be codified (written down). This is significant because it means that neither Abram nor Jacob were following guidelines previously given by God. These events were “outside” or “before” the law was given.

3. Neither Abram nor Jacob tithed; Abram gave (freely), and Jacob promised to give, if God did what He had already unconditionally promised to do. There were no consequences tied to either one of them NOT GIVING!

"Practical Christianity"

Spirit, Soul & Body and the 3 Realms of Reality

Posted on by Dianne

When we understand how God made us, and the changes wrought through salvation, we are better equipped to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil. We need to start with a solid understanding and description of what we are, and what our environment is. If you are a regenerated Christian, you can say, “I am a spirit, I have a soul and I live in a body.”

The Body & the Natural Realm

God created us with bodies. Each of us lives in a unique body, inherited genetically from our parents, who inherited their bodies from their parents, and so on. The body is made up of skin, muscle, circulatory system, heart, brain, etc. Our body was made to function in this earthly environment for a limited time and under earthly restrictions, and it is our body that communicates and relates to this world. The body has five senses: touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. The body is not a spiritual entity, but is often affected by what goes on in both the soul and the spirit. Before we were born into this world, we did not have the body we have now, and after we die, it will go into the ground (in one way or another). The body is not eternal.

Because the body is a part of the natural realm, it is subject to natural laws. Some of these are time, decay, hunger, pain (sunburn, broken bones) and tiredness. Illness, stress and accidents are also a part of this realm. Jesus said the rain falls on the just and the unjust; the positive and the negative of the natural realm do not discriminate between believers and non-believers. Likewise, natural disasters, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes and the like do not always represent signs or judgment from God.

Warfare in the natural realm consists of taking care of our bodies; generally speaking, most of us don’t have any trouble seeing the need for brushing our teeth, eating properly, exercising regularly and getting proper sleep (though we may not actually do them). We do need to be aware, however, that when our bodies break down, it is often a clear indication that there is something wrong in the soulical realm.

We need to not only take care of our bodies (God loves your body), but also be aware of what is going on in the natural realm. God is constantly speaking through creation; this is one of the reasons there is such debate regarding the creation of the universe, the evolution of man, and the existence of alien life. In his present state, man often relies on “faith in the insupportable” to divert his thoughts from being confronted daily by the infinite majesty and order of the created natural realm (it takes more faith to believe in the poorly researched and illogical hypotheses of much of the scientific community than it does to believe in an infinitely creative God. By the way, among evolutionists, there is no agreement on what the main tenets of evolution should be, except that evolution opposes creation. True science wonderfully reveals God’s existence and workings in the natural realm; it’s often when we try to apply scientific, natural reasoning to the supernatural and spiritual realms that science turns into deception and manipulation).

We can conclude that that which pertains to the natural realm is subject to natural laws, and is under the control of the One Who created it.

[to be continued]
Other Authors

AN OPEN DOOR by Ray Prinzing

Posted on by Dianne

“Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.”     Rev. 3:8

“Behold, a door was opened in heaven; and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither.”         Rev. 4:1

In the many cycles of God’s dealings with man, we are often brought to a new circumstance, a bend in the road with a new direction, a fresh start with a change of jobs, or just another measurement of time called a new year.  The attitude in which we face these challenges is vital in respect to the progress to be made, and the victories to be experienced.  I John 4:18 says, “Fear hath torment”.  The Greek word translated here as ‘torment’ literally means, ‘restraint’. It also holds within it the meaning of ‘a pruning’ which signifies a holding back, a restriction of growth.  Fear prohibits one from going on to perfection, for it draws back from the unknown, and confines us to the limitations of that which we have already experienced.  Therefore we must gird up our minds, knowing that “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”, (II Timothy 1:7).  And His love in us will “cast out all fear”.

Inasmuch as “the steps of a man are ordered by the Lord: and He delighteth in his way,” (Psalm 37:23), we can courageously accept the challenge of AN OPEN DOOR, knowing that He goes before us to lead step by step.  It is God that hath set before us this ‘open door’, and “If God be for us, who can be against us? – In all these things we are (become) more than conquerors through Him that loved us,” (Romans 8:31, 37)

Beyond all the natural realms, however, there is also that OPEN DOOR FOR NEW SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONS.  “Come up hither” bespeaks of a transition, an end to the former, the limitations of the ‘in part’, a prophecy, a word of knowledge, a word of wisdom, fragmentary and incomplete: and now to become partakers of the CREATIVE WORD for the new order of His kingdom.

General

Memorial Day Reminder

Posted on by Dianne

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

Ronald Reagan

General

Quotable Quote for Memorial Day

Posted on by Dianne

“It’s not enough that we do our best;
sometimes we have to do what’s required.”

Sir Winston Churchill

Understanding our duty, our responsibility as citizens of whatever country is to acknowledge our present-tense role as conduits of the grace, wisdom and freedom of Almighty God. If anyone can value freedom, it should be those who depend on God for achieving and giving eternal freedom to them, unconditionally.
Tithing

Tithing, Giving and the Scriptures [Part 2]

Posted on by Dianne

DEFINITIONS

One of the main reasons “tithing” has become a divisive issue in the church could be boiled down to a grammatical misunderstanding. To clarify, we will discuss “tithe” in the two forms in which it is used in scriptures, as a noun and as a verb.

“Tithe” as a Noun

“Tithe” simply means “tenth.” So, if I give you a dime, I am giving you a tithe of a dollar. Please note that “giving” is the verb, or action, and “tithe” is simply a quantity or amount. A tithe of 467 cows is 46.7 cows; a tithe of 12 months is 1 month +1 week (approximately). In many places in scripture the word is simply a number.

It is also used as a verb, or an activity God requires as partial fulfillment of His covenant with Israel.

Elements of a Covenant

The main elements of a covenant are based on “If you do such and such, I’ll do so and so.” Both parties agree to it, so there is an underlying assumption that each participant gets something out of it. When Christians speak of The Covenant, it is the covenant made in the Old Testament that is usually being referred to; specifically, the commandments and precepts given to Moses to bring the nation of Israel into a covenant-based relationship with God. The parties involved are Israel and God; the conditions of compliance are that if Israel will keep all the commandments and the precepts, God will be their God, and Israel will be His people. The consequences are long, happy, healthy lives; basically material blessings. (Remember, salvation was not available until the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.) The consequences for disobeying were also spelled out: failure to keep ALL of the law would result in God bringing judgment upon His people. Like the benefits, the consequences were likewise material in nature: disease, drought, war and famine.

There were many requirements of the law, only one of which was the tithe.

“Tithe” as a Verb

In the following section we will look at the specifics given in the scripture that make up the covenantal elements usually referred to as “the tithe.” In general, we can say that “to tithe” is to fulfill the law by paying a set amount in specific ways to specific people for specific uses at specific times in order to maintain a specific relationship with God. If the Israelites did their part, to fulfill the commandments (there were hundreds, by the way) and the precepts, then God was obligated by His Word to fulfill His part, and take care of them and bless them.

It may help to remember that the Levites were not the first to tithe; many idolaters dedicated a tenth of their increase to their gods, and held festivals and meccas to celebrate the blessing of their gods. Giving a portion of the spoils of war and of the increase of the field was common throughout the ancient world, from Greece to China to Mayan civilizations. And giving in proportions of ten was common, as it was the basis of most of the known counting systems (by virtue of the common counting appendages).

"Practical Christianity"

Basic Principles of Bible Interpretation

Posted on by Dianne

As we study the scriptures, or anything else for that matter, we need to do some objective evaluating of the content. Here are some guidelines:

1) Who wrote it? (Author) Is this person speaking for God, or themselves, or for a position or belief they are trying to re-enforce or question?

2) To whom was it written? (Audience) Believer or non-believer? Those under law or under grace? To those in authority or to the common man?

3) What was the social situation? (Environmental Context) What city? What is the history of the region? What was going on politically, religiously, financially at the time?

4) When was this written? (Age Context) Was this written under Law or under Grace? Pre-Resurrection or Post-Resurrection?

5) What is the practical application for us, since we, as believers, now live in the age of grace? (Application)

6) Review the passage before and after the scripture being studied. Remember, in the original there were no chapter breaks, passage numbers or even punctuation or capitalizations.

7) Study key words according to their original definition. A Strong’s Concordance, referencing the King James Version, is an invaluable resource, as is a good interlinear reference, which gives a modern-day translation with a “straight-rendering” or “word-for-word” translation of the original language, whether Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek).

8) Does what I have learned from this passage cause me to depend on God, or on myself (the strength of my emotions, will or intellect). I have found this a good test to see whether I have interpreted a passage according to grace or from a law mentality, which begets legalism and death.

9) When using outside references, dictionaries, expositories, etc., use as great a variety as possible, as often these individual works are written to enforce a viewpoint, approach, belief, doctrine or denomination.

10) When studying scripture, use as many versions and translations as possible, as each will have a nuance that may give further revelation by the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment. This also trains us to become interpreters, rather than simply sponges that absorb the surface layer.

These are just a few criteria to keep in mind whenever we study the scripture, regardless of what version we use. This is important because we want to handle the scriptures rightly, and not be putting words in God’s mouth. In this way, we can have confidence that as the Holy Spirit brings the words to life, He is doing so according to His will, and not because it’s something we want to hear, or have heard from someone else.