Thursday, March 9, 2017
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Love of Truth
The Daily Messenger: Love of Truth: For The Love of Truth: In real truth, there is no lie. In real truth, there’s no deception. In real truth, it doth iniquity defy. I...
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Beauty and Blessings...end of the day
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| Lake Casitas with some water in it...for awhile...be gone by summer tho |
Friday, March 3, 2017
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Who should Christians give their Money to?
Who should Christians give their Money to?
By Biblicism Institute
Money is the reward for your hard work, therefore be judicious how you spend it.
It is foremost to satisfy your needs and
the needs of your family – today, in bad times, and in your later years –
while not forgetting those less fortunate.
DON’T BE LIKE THE UNRIGHTEOUS STEWARD
“In a wise man’s dwelling, precious treasures and oils are stored.” Proverbs 21: 20
“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.” Proverbs 13:22
You are just a steward of the money you
earn, therefore learn to control it before it controls you. In other
words, get in the habit of using and bequeathing it properly:
a. meet your family’s needs (vacation included);
b. don’t waste money on frivolous things;
c. save for bad times;
d. invest in your retirement;
e. lay away for your children’s future;
f. take eternity into account and apply Jesus’s parable of The Unrighteous Steward from Luke 16:
1 AND he said also to his disciples:
There was a certain rich man who had a steward: and the same was accused
unto him, that he had wasted his goods.
2 And he called him, and said to him:
How is it that I hear this of you? Give an account of your stewardship:
for now you can’t be steward no longer.
3And the steward said within himself:
What shall I do, because my lord takes away from me the stewardship? To
dig I am not able; to beg I am ashamed.
4 I know what I will do, that when I shall be removed from the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
5 Therefore calling together every one of his lord’s debtors, he said to the first: How much dost thou owe my lord?
6 But he said: An hundred barrels of oil. And he said to him: Take your bill and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
7 Then he said to another: And how
much do you owe? Who said: An hundred quarters of wheat. He said to him:
Take your bill, and write eighty.
8 And the lord commended the unjust
steward, for as much as he had done wisely: for the children of this
world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.
9 And I say to you: Make unto you
friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when you die, they may
receive you into everlasting dwellings.
10 He that is faithful in that which
is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is
unjust also in much.
11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?
With that parable, Jesus delineated a two-prong position.
1) Salvation. The unrighteous steward
gave away commercial goods to those who could give back to him in
return. Scratch my back, I scratch yours. That’s the way of the world,
and for the world it is a smart way to deal. However, you, as a disciple
of Christ, have something better to give. The Gospel of Salvation. And it is not to be exchanged for filthy lucre like many “preachers” do today. It is to be given to all, expecting nothing in return. That’s why Jesus said right after:
“No servant can serve two masters:
for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will hold to
the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Luke
16: 13
Many will argue that “preachers” don’t
preach the Gospel for money. But how come they always find a way to ask
for that unrighteous mammon? And how come they draw a salary as
compensation? See Understanding the Duties of Ministry.
Jesus never asked for money and neither
did the Apostles. Whenever the Apostles picked up a collection, it was
always to give to the poor.
2) Money. You must not only give the Gospel away for free,
you must also bestow money on those who can’t give back to you. That
way they can see Christ in you, as well as getting a taste of the
goodness of the Lord through your giving.
“Taste and see that the LORD is good.” Psalm 34: 8
“If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.” Luke 6: 33
When you give it is as if God Himself is giving. Said gesture affords you the opportunity to share Christ. It is also a seed impregnated with Christian love that later on could yield the fruit of change in marginal “Christians”, or salvation in the souls of those who do not know Christ. That’s why Jesus said to “make friends using unrighteous mammon”.
Thereupon, those at the receiving end of
your gift, once saved, will be able to partake with you of the
everlasting life, which is the real dividend or the true riches that God
Himself will assign to you as your own.
Unfortunately, many are in the habit of
telling those who are in need that they’ll “pray” for them. But of what
use are these prayers?
“If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and
one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and
yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is
that?” James 2: 15-17
If God brings someone in need to YOU, or
you hear of someone in need, and YOU do nothing to actually help, how
will his plight be mitigated? God is not going to “personally” alleviate
his suffering. He commanded YOU – His steward – to do so.
Instead, many have no qualms writing big
checks for “preachers” in “ministry” who use their hard-earned money to
live the high life. See Of Leaders and Servants in the Church.
In so doing they set in motion the exact
opposite of what Jesus talked about in the parable. They reward these
“preachers” for teaching the word, and in return these “preachers” keep
preaching to get more checks.
Consequently, the whole lot become
unrighteous stewards, especially as Jesus never meant for his church
assembly to be a 501c3 corporation nor for it to run on money.
THE GIFT OF GIVING
Before you give make sure you take care of your family first. Then whatever you purpose in your heart to donate, do so 1) to those in your extended family or household who are in need, and 2) to those outside your family who are poor, needy, or struggling, Christians firstly and others next. See The Family is God’s Plan.
“But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, whatever I have that would help you has been given to God, he
is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated
the word of God for the sake of your tradition.” Matthew 15:5,6
“But if someone doesn’t provide for their own family, and especially for a member of their household, they have denied the faith. They are worse than those who have no faith.” 1 Tim 5:8
“Is it not to
divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the
house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” Isaiah 58:7
” ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?‘ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ ” Matthew 25: 37-40
“…let him labour, working with [his] hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.” Eph. 4:28
That’s how God blessed the latter days of
Job. He multiplied – through Job’s hard work – the money his brothers,
sisters, and friends gifted him in order to afford him a fresh new
start.
“Then came there unto him all his brothers, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning…” Job 42:11,12
In other words, give to those you
personally know and to those God puts in your path. If everyone did
that, the world would be a better place.
GIVING ABOVE AND BEYOND
You’ll find that even after doing all of the above, the cacophony of those vying for your money is still unmistakably loud:
a) the local church; see Ministry Money and the Tithe Lie
b) other ministries and secular charities.
When it comes to giving above and beyond
what is required (especially if you have plenty to spare), let Jesus
Himself tone down the noise.
“Jesus
said unto him, If you will be perfect, go and sell all that you have,
and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven: then come
and follow me.” Matthew 19:21
First, let’s make it clear that what
Jesus told that man was for that man. He told him to sell everything and
give it all away. As for you, you must listen to what Jesus has to tell
you. The scope of His order for you might be quite different. And how
do you hear Him? He tugs your heart gently and repeatedly until His will
permeates your spirit – that is if you’re truly open to hearing Him.
Second, when Jesus told the man to give
all his money to the poor, He didn’t demand that the money be given to
“His ministry” or “His organization”. He told the man to personally go
and distribute it.
The idea is to bless others one on one.
Again, that way they can see Jesus working through you as it is an
occasion to share the love of Christ – not to shove it down their
throats.
“Let your gentleness be evident to all.” Philippians 4:5
However, for a tiny minority it might be
logistically difficult to personally give away a large amount of money
to a lot of different individuals. Still, nothing is impossible, and
you’ll never know until you try.
Some alternative solutions might be to
start your own foundation/ministry, or to give in-kind contributions
instead of cash to existing ministries/organizations that cater to the
needy.
In these instances, ministries that cater
to the needy can 1) incorporate to help raise money and legally protect
themselves, and 2) hire employees or contractors, if Christian
volunteers cannot be found. See Understanding the Duties of Ministry.
However, if you feel strongly inclined to
financially help one or various of those outside organizations or
ministries, make sure you (or your accountant) personally examine how
they’re handling (or mishandling) their finances, as well as keeping in
mind that many of them are just fronts for unscrupulous individuals to
draw hefty salaries. Again Please See Understanding the Duties of Ministry.
CONCLUSION
In God’s Kingdom on earth we Christians don’t give to get back. We give freely just the way God gives because we want to emulate Him.
“Remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ “Acts 20:35
“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32
Therefore, God doesn’t bless us because of what we give or do.
“When you do all the things which are
commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have done only that
which was our duty to do.'” Luke 17:10
He blesses us because of who He is.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” Psalm 23:1
Gifted money should almost always go to
those who are in need, whether they’re in want for food, clothing,
shelter, health care, education, bible, etc.
Consequently, follow the lead of the Holy Spirit and apply due diligence. In the end, you have to make the call.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Angel souls animate the form we call plants and flowers.
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| Find the spirit within the form...faces in flowers and greenery, everywhere you look. Once you see it, you will always see it from then on. |
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