Live like Jesus

Do we live like Jesus?  Do we do what He tells us to do or not to do?

If we remain in Him and He is in us, then we will live just as Jesus did.  How do we know how Jesus lived?  How do we know what He commanded us to do?

Read the word of God precious people.  Everything you need to know is right there in the Bible.  The Bible is like a treasure chest full of pearls of wisdom.  God speaks to us through His word.  How can we have a good relationship with Him if we don't take time to get still in His presence and listen to what He has to say?  He speaks to us through His word!  Open the Bible and discover the hidden things in that treasure chest.  His word will change you.  Your mind will be renewed, your thought pattern will be changed.  You will develop a whole new outlook on things.

Enjoy your relationship with the Living God.  He makes you a new creation.

But whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God is perfected.  This is how we know we are in Him:
the one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked.
•~1 John 2:5-6

Art:  Richard Gunther

Even worse awaits the world during Tribulation in last days

This will never happen to you...right? Well it's coming again upon the whole world. The Bible says in Matthew 24:21-22 that during the tribulation period if those days be not cut short, no human being will be saved, but for God's elect's sake those days will be cut short.

It Seems Impossible from guest728c98

Tithing

Just the other day we were told that we are under a curse (Malachi was quoted) if we don't tithe. But God gave me peace about this Old Testament practice when I went to Him in prayer about it and He led me to several verses in the New Testament. Peace is not what I had while giving under compulsion and I certainly was not a cheerful giver these last few months. I did give cheerfully before that, but due to circumstances we cannot give as much as we used to, so we are giving with a heavy heart, suffering actually.

So now we will be giving what we decided in our hearts to give and not 10% under compulsion or begrudgingly. Jesus said His yoke is easy and His burden is light. 10% is a heavy burden when you don't have it to give! Then to tell us we are under a curse! Jesus became a curse in my place on that cross, NO MAN will drag me back under a curse or Old Testament law! JESUS set me FREE!! Hallelujah! God is good and merciful! Bless His Holy Name!

Trust NO MAN! Preachers are not God, don't put them on a pedestal. Don't believe every word that comes out of their mouth. PRAY and search the scriptures! God WILL answer you through His Word that is Holy Spirit breathed!

Please read the quoted article below for your edification and may God open your eyes and bless you in doing so.

"If you go to the New Testament to develop a biblical basis for Christian giving, you could never come up with what is commonly taught and practiced in the majority of churches today. Having spent eight years in Bible college and seminary, I can tell you I did not take one class or even hear one lesson on the theology of giving. So, like most pastors, my theology of giving carried over from what I had been taught in my church and I accepted it without question – a 10% tithe goes to the church.

It wasn’t until recent years when I decided to do an exhaustive, comprehensive study to support the doctrine of New Testament tithing that I realized from a biblical standpoint, I didn’t have a theological leg to stand on. So, allow me to share with you a very brief overview of what the Bible actually teaches on tithing and giving. I suspect you might be as surprised by what I learned as I was.

Tithing in the New Testament
First, it is important to know that nowhere in the New Testament is their even one verse stating that Christians are to tithe – not one verse. The word tithing is only mentioned on three occasions in the entire New Testament and all three are merely historical references to the practice.

(1) First, Jesus tells the Pharisees that they should be tithing (Matthew 23:23). Still being under the Old Testament Law and citizens of Israel, the Pharisees should have been doing so.
(2) The second reference is when the Pharisee is arrogantly bragging in his prayer about how he has kept all the law, including tithing (Luke 18:9-14).
(3) The third reference is an historical note that Abraham paid a tithe to Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:5-10) from his spoils of war. Many try to claim that believers are obligated to tithe because the concept of tithing preceded the law based on Abraham’s tithe. But keep in mind Abraham’s tithe was a one-time “payment,” made of his own freewill from excess booty gained in war (Genesis 14:20). We have no indication that he ever did it again nor that his gift was intended to be normative for others, much less repeated on a weekly basis.

Keep in mind that almost all the New Testament was written by practicing Jews (Matthew, Mark, John, Paul, Peter and James) who certainly knew well the Old Covenant law on tithing, but none of them ever mentions tithing as a basis for Christian giving even when they were talking expressly about giving. Could we not rightly assume that if the Old Testament tithes were intended to be applied to us today, the New Testament authors would have said so at least once in all their writing to us about giving?

Tithing in the Old Testament
Old Testament tithing, simply stated, was a tax that the Jews had to pay to underwrite their theocratic nation whose King was God. There were three taxes/tithes they were required to pay.

Tax #1: Every year Jews were required to pay 10% of all their crops, livestock and whatever else they had (Leviticus 27:30-33, Deuteronomy 14:22-29) – what was called the Levites’ Tithe. Because Israel was a theocracy, the Levites and priests were the government officials that needed to be supported by the citizens of Israel. If you remember, the tribe of Levi received no land as an inheritance. They were only given cities in all the other tribes. The tribes as such were required to support them through this first 10% tax.
Tax #2: This second tax was collected to underwrite the cost of all the festivals and religious ceremonies that were required by Jewish law for Israel to observe (Deuteronomy 14:22-27). This helped underwrite all the national events that Israel celebrated.
Tax #3: This third tax was payable every third year to provide a welfare safety net for the poor in Israel (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).
The Jewish tax system was a flat tax of 23.33%. However, there were still other “taxes” due, like the temple tax (Matthew 17:24). The Jews were also not permitted to harvest their fields to the edges, leaving the corners unharvested as an additional welfare tax to help feed the poor (Leviticus 19:9). The annualized tax a Jew would be required to pay might total about 25%.
So, the Old Testament tithes were the taxation system used to underwrite Israel’s national expenses.

Giving in the New Testament
Let me say again, these Jewish taxes were never once applied to non-Jewish believers in the New Testament – never once.
In the early church, as you may recall, the Jews were trying to insist that the new Gentile converts needed to also obey the Jewish laws in order to become Christians? The Jerusalem Council determined that the Gentile Christians were only obligated to obey the following:
“…for it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements. You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well” (Acts 15:28-29).
Here the Jewish Christians had their chance to impose on the Gentile Christians the Jewish tax law, but it was not included in the list to the Gentile believers.

So, if tithing isn’t the basis for our Christian giving, what is it? You may be surprised to know that it is the same for us today as it was for the Old Testament Israelite – freewill offerings. The Jews had taxes to pay and we have taxes to pay. The Jews made freewill offerings and we make freewill offerings. Freewill offerings, contrary to taxes, have always been voluntary and in whatever amount the giver chooses. Freewill offerings are motivated out of grace and love. Taxes are motivated out of law and duty.

A major section of New Testament teaching on giving is found in II Corinthians 8-9 where Paul gives us a compelling example and crystal clear teaching on what New Testament giving should look like. He first shares about the giving of the Macedonian church that is currently in the midst of an incredible economic crisis:

And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.
We must not miss the one striking fact in this passage. Paul tells us how all this out-of-control giving happened – they gave themselves first to the Lord. Once they gave themselves first to the Lord, giving away everything left in their almost empty moneybags was easy.

Paul goes on to set the giving basis for believers in II Corinthians 9:7. He directs us, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Do you notice what is missing in Paul’s giving directive? There is no formula or percentage for how much we ought to give. The amount of our giving is decided upon after carefully searching our hearts. Giving is a matter of the heart, not a matter of the wallet. If God gets our hearts, He will get our wallets. (Read Matthew 6:21.) Our giving decisions are to be internally motivated, not externally motivated.

I recently heard a pastor state quite emphatically that according to Malachi 3:8-10, if you are not tithing, you are living under a curse. How awful! Is this the kind of teaching on giving that creates a culture of open-handed, generous giving like we see in the Macedonian church? Are we saved by grace, but still required to give by law? I would suggest that this idea is completely dismissed by what Paul says about our giving – not grudgingly or under compulsion. Giving to avoid a curse might generate a relieved giver, but not a cheerful one.
 
Conclusion

Let me be perfectly clear here. Freedom from the law of Old Testament taxation is not freedom to give less. It is freedom to give in the ways and the amounts that properly reflect our deep, abiding love and gratitude for our Father and His Kingdom. It should reflect our desire to give to Him with the same sacrificial abandon that He gave to us when He sent His son to rescue us from Hell. We are now free to make sacrificial, love offerings to Him, not just pay a bill we are told we owe Him.

So, go and be free from the law and let the law of love direct you in the size and amount of your freewill offerings to your Father. And in so doing both God and you will love watching you turn into a truly cheerful giver!"

(Quoted Source Stewardship Ministries)

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Jesus

I'm reading about Jesus' crucifixion and it makes me emotional every single time.  It's not only because of the way He was treated, the pain and suffering He had to go through, but there's also another reason...His crucifixion was my fault!  Not just mine, but every other human being on this earth!  We and our sins caused that Jesus had to be crucified.  People are always going on about how the Jews killed Jesus.  Yes they sure did, but God caused their spiritual blindness, so that we, the gentiles, could become part of Abraham's seed, be grafted in. :)  

Jesus was led to the slaughter like a lamb, not resisting.  The only holy worthy Lamb to be offered for our sins.  No other sacrifice could suffice or please God anymore.  He did it of His own free will, because He was being obedient to His Father in heaven.  All for us!  Because He loves us.  To make us free from the bondage of sin and death!  Oh what a wonderful, indescribable love God has for us.  Yet, most reject His love, mocking their Creator, turning their backs on Him. :( 

I pray for the Jewish people, because when they see Jesus coming on the clouds, they will mourn bitterly when they look upon the One they pierced.  Thank God He is RISEN and He is COMING BACK!  :D

I pray also for all people that God open their hearts and minds so that they come to accept Jesus as their Saviour, before it's too late.  Pray for yourselves people, pray for Israel, pray for all people!  Love the Jewish people, as God loves them.  Stop with the anti-semitism!

Get ready people, Jesus is coming!  Maranatha!

Zechariah 12:9-14  It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.

Isaiah 45:22  "Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Philippians 2:8-11  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

You can read about Jesus' crucifixion in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  Get out that dusty bible and get to reading!  Get to know Jesus.  :D

Thanks for reading.  God bless you in Jesus' Holy name!

What she did is a memorial to her

It was two days before Passover and before Jesus was to be crucified.  He was in Bethany at the house of Simon.  A woman came to Him with fragrant oil in an alabaster flask and she anointed Him by pouring the oil out over Him.
The disciples weren't happy about that, they said she could have sold it (it was expensive fragrant oil) and given the money to the poor, but Jesus told them that she is doing something good and that she is preparing His body for His burial.
He also said that wherever the Gospel is preached to the world, this woman will be remembered for what she did.

Matthew 26:7-13 
..a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.
But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?
For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor."
But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me.
For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.
For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.
Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."

As I read what she did and what Jesus said about her, it made me smile.  Jesus never lies!  His Words are true, just look at us, here at this time, still reading about the beautiful thing she did for Jesus. :D  Truly a blessed woman, what a privilege to have been the one to anoint Jesus.
Jesus never lies!

Thanks for reading! :)  God bless you in abundance in Jesus' Holy name.