Tag: spiritual

Love God First and Foremost – Open Your Eyes Series

On By LindaIn Open Your EyesLeave a comment
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Deuteronomy 6:5  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Do you love God first and foremost? What does that look like?

Love: Strong’s 157 to have affection.  Affection is defined as a gentle feeling of fondness or liking.

You can feel affection for all sorts of things. Family, your pets, and babies.  Maybe even chocolate, cozy fires on cold days, and walks on the beach.  What about God?  Do you feel affection towards Him? Do thoughts of Him fill you with delight and warmth?

Your heart: Strong’s 3824  inner man, mind, will, heart

What fills your heart each day? Is it God? How much of your heart do you give to God? How much time do you spend thinking about Him and His ways?

Your soul: Strong’s 5315 a soul, living, being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

What is your passion in life? What is your greatest desire? What elicits the greatest emotions in you? Is it God? Do you seek Him as earnestly and passionately as you do your hobbies or jobs or love relationships? Do you get emotional about Him like you do at football games or concerts?

Your strength: Strong’s 3966 vehemence, vehemently, wholly, speedily

Where do you put your greatest energy? What goals and dreams do you work towards with all your strength? Is it getting to know God? To grow in love and knowledge of Him? Of doing the things He has asked of you?

Jesus grew up with the Old Testament.  He was well familiar with Deuteronomy 6:5. But when He was asked about the greatest commandment, He said it in a different way.

Luke 10:27 And He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all our soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Love: Strong’s 25 to love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for, denotes the love of reason, esteem.

This expands on the definition of love above. Not only are you to set your affection on Him, but do you also long for Him and esteem Him above all else? Do you take pleasure in Him and His ways?

Heart: Strong’s 2532 the heart i.e. the thoughts or feelings

This one is very close to the Deuteronomy scripture. How much of your thought-life is spent on God? Do you freely give Him your feelings, or do you hold back on those, keeping Him more academic?

Soul: Strong’s 5590 breath i.e. spirit, abstractly or concretely

Does every breath you take find its home in God? If you only got to take in a breath each time your thoughts went to God, would you thrive or die of suffocation?

Strength” Strong’s 2479 strength (absolutely), power, might, force, ability

How much force do you apply to push past distractions that come between you and God? How much will-power do you exert in seeking God when you’re tired or stressed or worried or sad? Do you run after Him with the best of your ability? Or do you make half-hearted attempts, giving up when the way gets hard?

Mind: Strong’s 1271 deep thought, properly, the faculty, by implication, its exercise

How deeply do you contemplate God? Are thoughts of Him fleeting as they dance through your mind, or do you exercise your brain, digging deep to understand what God reveals to you through His Word?

Don’t forget the word ‘all’. God didn’t say to love Him with some of our heart, some of our strength, some of our mind. He wants it all.

I do not do a very good at following this first and foremost command. I suspect that you don’t either. We might have lots of reasons for falling short. We’re human, we’re busy with the concerns of life, and we don’t want to become extreme like “those” people. But none of that excuses us. God gave the command to us fully aware that we are human. He’s told us to seek His kingdom first and He’d provide everything we needed. As for being extreme, Jesus was a bit extreme when He died for us. How much less so should we be?

Why does God want us to be so focused on Him? Why does He want us to love Him above all other things or people? I don’t know because it is not spelled out in the Bible. But I do know it’s not for His benefit. His commands to us are always for our benefit, to keep us safe, and to help us grow in our relationship with Him. Could it be that this first command is the basis of our entire relationship with Him? That it forms the foundation that will help us get through hard times? That in the end times, which we may well be in, it will keep us safe from deception of all kinds?

Too many times we are lulled into letting thoughts of Him drift away as other things take His place. It’s easy to become complacent until He becomes a no more than a Sunday routine. Let’s wake up to reality – to how much we actually love God. Let’s not accept anything less than our all. Let’s pray and ask God to help us grow in our ability to obey His command. That is one prayer I can pretty much guarantee He will be pleased to grant.

God Feels Indignation Every Day – Open Your Eyes Series

On By LindaIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Ps 7:11  God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.

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Indignation, according to Strong’s H2194, is defined as froth at the mouth, fury, angry, rage.

That is not an image of God we like to think about. We’d much rather think of God’s love and forgiveness and mercy and grace. But if that’s all we think about, we’re going to miss a side of God that is as important as the warm fuzzies He gives.

A God that is only loving and merciful and forgiving is not a loving God at all. If He allows sin to go unpunished, how is that loving to those who are hurt by it? How is it loving if He never disciplines us and we end up selfish, self-centered, greedy, idolaters – and then he judges us when we die? 

I’ve heard people say that they can’t accept a God who is an angry, judging God.

First, I’d say they don’t get to create God in their image. If God was a vindictive, unfair, cruel God, He would still be God. We would still have to treat Him as such. We might not have the warm feeling for Him that we would want, but that doesn’t change the fact that God is God. No one made Him. He just is.

Second, God is just. He does what is right, period. He doesn’t follow social norms or cultural expectations. He doesn’t take advice from anyone. He does right because He is righteous. It is who He is.

Third, they don’t know and can’t know God’s thoughts. His thinking is way beyond our thinking. He sees things differently than we do because His perspective is so much higher than ours. He can see the end from the beginning. Time had no restraint on Him. We are bound by so many things – He is bound by nothing. He sees all. He knows all. He is in all places at all times, including our hearts. He knows each person’s motivations and future. Our decisions are based on what we see and know. In like manner, God makes decisions based on what He sees and knows.

And fourth, our spirits are created for God. If we reject Him, we will fill that space with other gods of our own making. Money, power, prestige, causes, agendas, family, jobs, hobbies, sports, even ourselves, are all things that have become gods in today’s world. We can talk ourselves into and out of believing anything, but the truth doesn’t change. There is only one God.  And we didn’t create Him.

God is who He is. He does what He does. We can accept all of Him, part of Him, or none of Him. That doesn’t change the fact that He is looking down at us right this minute with both love and fury. Jesus provided the only way to escape being the object of His fury. We may suffer some fallout from the fury directed at the evil around us, but we will not be a target.

How many of us truly believe what God has revealed about Himself through the Bible? How would our attitude and reverence towards God change if we truly accepted all aspects of Him? How would our lives be different if we really believed that God feels indignation at sin every day?

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.  (Eph 1:4)

And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” (Luke 4:8)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways  and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Is 55:8-9)

“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” (Jer 17:10)

Open Your Eyes

On By LindaIn allegories, analogies, and parables, My ThoughtsLeave a comment

My granddaughter loves riding lessons, and I love watching her as she directs her horse to walk, trot, turn, and back up. She’s not really in charge, but she doesn’t know that. She interacts with the volunteers who lead the horse and walk by her side, but since she’s the one with the reins in her hands, she believes she’s in control.

One day she had fallen asleep on the way to the stables.  It was a heavy sleep, and she resisted my efforts to wake her up when we got there. I carried her into the stable, hoping the greetings from the people and the neighing of the horses would help wake her. But although a small smile would escape her lips from time to time, she refused to open her eyes.

I set her on the ground and led her around to each horse and then to the donkeys. Not even their loud braying convinced her to open her eyes.

The instructors suggested they put her on the horse anyway and let Frankie do her “horse magic”.  I handed my granddaughter to the experts and went to stand by the fence. I could hear them talking to her, coaxing her, teasing her, and distracting her through questions – all while they helped her mount and walk their warm up laps. Still, those little eyes remained closed. And they remained closed for half of the lesson, totally dependent of what her instructor and the volunteers told her.

A month ago, the Lord told me things were going to get rough and that many were not prepared. They were not listening. He asked me to pray that they would wake up, open their eyes, get into the position He assigned them, and strengthen themselves by praying.

I suspected that the election results were going to cause some problems no matter who won. What I didn’t see coming was a post like the one that popped up on my social media feed a few days ago. My heart is still grieving over it.

It’s been reposted numerous times, but I’m not sure if I’m allowed to post it here. So I’ll just say, the poster accused Christians of questioning the faith of those who “didn’t want to support a man who represents the opposite of everything Jesus taught”. 

First, my heart aches for those who are hurt by the questions of others. Pain is real no matter the cause.

Second, what are some examples of how Trump represents the opposite to everything Jesus taught? Which teachings are being referenced? And which teachings are being ignored? Jesus believed and followed the Old Testament. Is that included in “his teachings?” Vague accusations are a common tactic of the enemy.

And third, why are we not allowed to question what we see? Where is the dialogue? How can we understand when the door is slammed shut as soon as we ask? Do we not get to have our own opinions?

I have watched both political sides now for four years. I have watched full debates, rallies, hearings, and commentaries. I have listened to both liberal and conservative media. And I have prayed a lot.

What I have seen is a clear difference between the sides. Although there is a bias on the right side, there are outright lies and projections on the left towards the right.

The people in charge of the left have their narratives and I can understand why they say and do what they do. But I can’t understand how regular people, especially Christians, can believe what they say. It’s like people are walking around with their eyes closed, totally dependent on what the media is telling them. Things like…

There’s nothing wrong with Biden, except when it became too evident to hide it anymore. 

Listen to the science, except in the case of gender and in unborn children.

My body, my choice, except when it comes to vaccines.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion, except for white men and Christians/conservatives.

The contradictions are clearly there. Why do people not see them? What if it’s because they are riding life with their eyes closed, totally dependent on what they are being told? They may be holding the reins, but being in control is just an illusion. They are limited to where those in charge lead them.

This also goes for those on the right who blindly follow what they are being told.

Regardless of which side we are one, we need to know that this not a political issue and it’s not a social issue.

It’s a spiritual issue.

There is an enemy who is neither blue nor red. Invisible, yet firmly in control of many.

We all need to wake up to what’s really going on in our country. We all need to open our eyes to the evil that is trying to destroy us and the God who is trying to warn us. We all need to find our place in Jesus again. And we all need to pray. We need to be strong to face what’s coming. Because I’m pretty sure the rough times are not over.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  Mark 14:37-38

Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Revelation 3:3

But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:34

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand. Ezekiel 33:6

Are We Living In a Social Earthquake? Part 2

On By LindaIn allegories, analogies, and parables, My Thoughts1 Comment
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The damage from this social earthquake is intense. Ruined family relationships, the instability of morals, the destruction of respect for others, and the broken trust in our leaders and media.

The results are a nation of people living in a constant state of high anxiety, struggling with their instincts of fight or flight and clinging desperately to what they think will provide stability and safety, whether or not it really will.

I can’t speak for non-Christians, but what if those who identify as Christians respond to this social earthquake in a different way than in the previous paragraph? What if we actually live what the Bible teaches?

Oh, wait. Those are trigger words today. Let me rephrase it.

What if we actually live the two most important commandments that Jesus gave us? To love God first and foremost, and love each other as He loved us?

If we love God with all of our hearts, we won’t be giving our hearts to the wrong people or ideas. As a bonus, as God loves us back, we won’t be looking to others to fill our need for love. We won’t need others to affirm us, and we won’t be offended if they don’t.

If we love God with all our souls, we will conform ourselves to Him, and not be confused or shaken by changing social dictates.

If we love God with all of our minds, we will be focused on Him. Meditating on His ways and character  will leave us little time to be misled by ideas being pushed and lies being told.

If we love God with all of our strength, our energy will be directed towards what God wants and in doing good. We won’t have enough energy left to bicker and point fingers.

And if we love each other as Jesus loves us, we will be keep busy focusing on the good of others.  Speaking truth, tolerating each other’s quirks, listening to the heart of others instead of what we might see on the outside, meeting their needs, and enjoying various personalities will keep us so busy we won’t have time to think about ourselves. We won’t need to. Jesus said seek the kingdom first and the Father will supply our needs. That means spend your time taking care of others as God leads, and He will take care of you no matter how strong the earthquake.

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:34)

Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Ps 37:3

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19

Are We Living In a Social Earthquake? Part 1

On By LindaIn allegories, analogies, and parables, My Thoughts4 Comments
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I was reading about earthquakes the other day. Having never experienced one myself, I was fascinated to read the accounts by those who had. Their descriptions of the ground rolling and undulating, of the difficulty of walking straight, of buildings swaying, and the loud rumbling and groaning noises are hard for me to imagine. But then, I thought, maybe I can understand, because I may being living in one right now.

 It seemed when I was a child back in the 50s and 60s, life was a lot more stable, generally speaking. It was easy to identify right from wrong. Lies were called out. People were held accountable for their actions.

But over the decades, life seems to have become increasingly unstable, like the vibrations of an earthquake growing ever stronger. Today, it feels as if we are in a nation-wide 8.0 social earthquake. Just like an 8.0 physical earthquake causes major damage to land and the buildings on them, this social earthquake is doing major damage to the social and spiritual foundation of our country. People’s beliefs, attitudes, and lifestyles are shifting and shaking as ideas are pushed on them by vocal groups, politicians, and biased media. It’s hard to walk a straight path when we are being told to go first one way, and then another. Good is now being called evil, and evil is now considered good. Experts contradict each other, polls show whatever their creators want them to show, and AI blurs the lines between real and false. We no longer know what to believe, who to listen to, or where to go to find safety.

What if we stopped looking around and looked up instead. What if we got quiet and listened to what our Maker might be telling us.

He might be saying, “Hold on to Me. Don’t put your trust in what you see or don’t see around you. The only place for your trust is Me. I am the only one who knows everything that is happening, and how it all turns out.”

Polls media reports, political interviews can all be skewed. We can watch, discuss, research, and develop opinions – but we shouldn’t trust any of it to save us, save the nation, or to predict the future.

Trust the one who has the future in His hands. He is the only one who can save us and make our steps firm.

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Psalm 1121: 1-3 

for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ Isaiah 46: 9b-10

In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:10

Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie. Psalm 40:4

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. Psalm 118:8

The Difference Is… God is Omnipresent

On By LindaIn allegories, analogies, and parablesLeave a comment
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Julie rang the bell, and then smiled at the man who opened the door. This was her second week to babysit for Mr. Thompson while he conducted a meeting in his living room. She had been surprised last week to find the playroom in the basement, but it had been well lit and filled with toys and kids

“Hi, Mr. Thompson,” she smiled at him.

He smiled back. “Hi Julie! You’re just in time. The kids are waiting for you.”

She followed Mr. Thompson past the dining room to the basement door. He stopped just before opening it. Turning to her, he said, “I heard they gave you a hard time last week. I want you to know that although they may try to convince you otherwise, you’re the one in charge. Remind them of that if you need to. I will be up here if an emergency happens, but I trust you to take care of them until my meeting is over.”

Julie nodded at Mr. Thompson as he opened the door, and then followed the sounds of laughter dancing up the steps. Being paid to do what she loved filled her with joy, tempered with the weight of responsibility. Ultimately, she knew Mr. Thompson was in control of everything, but that didn’t mean he told her which games to pull out, when to intervene in a squabble, or whether to give them their snack on plates or napkins. He trusted her to make moment by moment decisions, and only got involved when she came to him for help or when the noise level indicated his presence was necessary to restore order. Or, if she misused her authority, the children’s cries reached his ears.

Mr. Thompson’s charge to Julie is similar to God’s charge to us concerning the earth. He has told us to take care of it and of each other. Just as Julie had been given the authority to rule the children, He gives us the authority to rule the earth. Ultimately, He is in control of everything, but that doesn’t mean He tells us which shirt to wear, what to eat for breakfast, or what color car to buy. He trusts us to make moment by moment decisions, and gets involved when we go to Him for help or when the circumstances indicate His presence is needed to restore order. Or, if we misuse our authority, the cries of the vulnerable reach His ears.

Some people view God in the same way Julie viewed Mr. Thompson. They believe He is upstairs, but after charging us to take care of everything, He withdrew. He provides everything we need, but He watches from a distance, rarely intervening if at all.

The difference is…

Mr. Thompson could not be in two places at the same time. He couldn’t be at his meeting and watch what Julie and the children did at the same time. Thus he could not make suggestions to help Julie care for the children. He could provide all that she would need, but the floor between them kept him at a distance, leaving Julie to carry out her charge the best she could.

However, God is everywhere at every moment. He is both in heaven watching us as we carry out our charge, and right by our sides whispering suggestions to keep us on the path. He may not tell us which book to read next – although He might – but if we are alert to His gentle nudging, He will guide us moment by moment in the areas that count.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over… all the earth…” Gen 1:26

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.  Is 30:21

Death of Two Fathers

On By LindaIn My ThoughtsLeave a comment

Today I found out that two of my friends, both adults, just lost their fathers.  My heart goes out to them. The grieving they feel. The changes they need to navigate. The emptiness in their lives and hearts.

Both friends share a common experience. A common grief.

But not a common outcome.

One is now an orphan. The other is not.

One is now without a father. The other still has a Father.

And this Father will never die.

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is an everlasting rock.  Isaiah 26:4

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God  John 1:12

Diamonds on the Beach

On By LindaIn allegories, analogies, and parablesLeave a comment

As I strolled the beach the other morning, I was surprised to find what appeared to be large diamonds glittering on the sand. Upon closer examination, I discovered that they were not the treasures they appeared to be. Instead, they were jellyfish.

Jellyfish are beautiful. Their colors, shapes, and movement are quite enticing. But along with jellyfish come something not as readily seen, not as beautiful, and downright dangerous. Tentacles.

The first time I got stung, the welt was so painful I vowed never to go in any water that contained even the faintest hint that there may be a jellyfish floating around. But as time passed, I grew more careless. I saw other people enjoying the water amid jellyfish. It can’t be that bad, I reasoned. I must have just had bad luck with the one I had encountered.

Slowly I lost my caution with jellyfish as, time after time, I successfully swam without getting hurt. But then one day I had just entered the water when a sharp pain pierced my leg. I jumped back onto the beach and stared at the welt growing redder by the second. I hadn’t even seen the jellyfish. I decided that day that, regardless of what other people did, I wouldn’t take the chance anymore.

Sin is like jellyfish. It can appear to be beautiful and enticing. You might see others happily engaged in the midst of it. But the hidden tentacles will eventually sting you. That’s why Jesus says to stay away from it. He is protecting you and others from the pain and sometimes death that results from sin. He’s protecting your future life. And most of all, He’s protecting your relationship with Him.

And that’s worth avoiding wherever jellyfish lurk.

The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. Proverbs 5:22

Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; Psalm 107:17

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” John 5:14

For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.   Psalm 38:4-8

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings death. James 1:14-15

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. Isaiah 59:2

What Is This Doing Here? (Deuteronomy 14:23-26)

On By LindaIn My Thoughts3 Comments
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In the midst of all the rules God gave Moses to pass on to the Israelites is one that seems so out of place as to rock everything I thought I knew about tithing.

We all know Malachi 3:8-10 where God accuses the Israelites of robbing Him by not bringing their full tithes into “the storehouse that there may be food in my house…”

I have tithed faithfully since the day God had quickened this scripture to me many years ago. That is, until recently. After moving to a new state, I had found a church but have been blocked time after time from giving to them until I finally asked God, “What’s going on? Don’t You want me to tithe to them? If not, then what am I to do with the money each month?”

I began to get the idea that He had somewhere else He wanted the money to go, so I raised my spiritual antenna a little higher and watched for where He directed. Within a week or so, I think I found it. A 90-year-old lady, living alone in a rundown trailer, overwhelmed with clearing off the neglected land that she wanted to sell. Now new questions flooded me. How? Cash to her? Pay a contractor to clean it up? How much? And most important of all – is this Biblical – to give my tithe money to a lady instead of to a church?

I search the Scriptures for directions on how to tithe. Among them was this passage:

Deut. 14  22 “You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. 23 And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the Lord your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the Lord your God chooses, to set his name there, 25 then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses 26 and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household. 

I noticed two things I hadn’t seen before. Verse 23 says “you shall eat” – not “you shall give” or “you shall leave with the priests”. And verse 26 says “If the way to too long… too far”, then “turn it into money” and “spend the money for whatever you desire… whatever your appetite craves.”

What?

I eat my own tithe? Or if the way is too long/far, I convert it to money and spend it on whatever I want?

This is blowing my mind!

I was always taught that ten percent of my income belonged to God and it needed to be given to the church I attended for them to do with it as they chose. Isn’t that what Malachi says? But these Scriptures don’t say that. These Scriptures are saying that I am to enjoy it myself -either at the place God chooses for His name to be honored or at my own place for whatever I want.

I know better than to take one Scripture and make a doctrine out of it. And I won’t do it with this one. Yet, isn’t that what we have done with Malachi? What if God’s storehouse is not the church? What if it’s the Church? The people of God? What if we are to give to fellow believers that are in need but not necessarily through a church? This led me to search out what the New Testament says about tithing/giving.

Although I didn’t find anything about tithing, I did find plenty of places where it talks about giving. They gave to groups of other Christians, sometimes through Paul, which is what we do when we give to our churches, but the Bible also talks about giving to those we personally see who are in need. Both are equally important. Neither mentions a specific amount. We are to give what’s in our heart. And neither says to pay our tithe to the church and then give extra offerings to people in need, something else I’ve been taught. I don’t see that differentiation in the New Testament. What I read is that we give what we want where we want with the encouragement to be generous.

I know that my church needs money to do the good works they feel led to do. I know the pastors need an income. So, I know giving to my church is important, and I will continue to do so. But I think God is leading me away from the law of tithing to the spirit of giving. Not locked into a set amount to a set place – but the freedom to be led by the Spirit to give when, where, and how much as He leads.

And, surprisingly, shockingly, what if He leads me to give to myself, according to Deuteronomy? I am NOT saying I decide that I’m going to keep my money to pay for extra expenses when they come up. But I am saying that maybe once in a while, God might choose to meet my need with my own “tithe” money. That would result in as much thanksgiving and rejoicing as it would if I gave to fill someone else’s need or when my need is met by someone else.

So, back to my initial question: What is Deuteronomy 14 doing there in the midst of all those other rules? I don’t know. Without more background knowledge of the culture of those days, I don’t understand what God was telling the Israelites through those words. But for me, today, Deuteronomy 14 is the wind that has started the collapse of my tithing doctrine like a springtime breeze collapses a house of cards. When the dust settles, when every card is still, I will rebuild my tithing doctrine using only the cards the Bible provides. In the meantime, I will loosen my hand and give generously wherever the Spirit chooses.

A side note: I’ve attended churches where the pastors lead moderate lifestyles and most of the money collected goes to places with biblical principles. But as I think of megachurches today, with ministries that are not biblical and pastors who get rich off the donations they collect, I’m wondering if maybe I’m not the only one that is being led away from mandatory tithing to Spirit-led giving. I wonder how many more members of the Body of Christ will have their needs met if we follow the Spirit instead of a law.

Scriptures for Reference:

Acts 20:35; Romans 12:8, 13; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 8, 9; Galatians 6:6-10; Philippians 4:18; Hebrews 13:16; 1 Timothy 6:17-19; James 1:27, 2:14-17; 1 John 3:17

Sometimes You Have to Look Harder (An Analogy)

On By LindaIn allegories, analogies, and parablesLeave a comment

Sunrises are easy to see. The whole eastern sky appears to be on fire. The intense yellows and oranges, changing and growing as the sun makes its arrival are breath-taking. But there are two conditions in order to enjoy this magnificent sight. One, you have to be awake. Period. You can’t see a sunrise if you’re eyes are not open. And two, there can’t be any significant obstacles between you and the eastern sky. In other words, you can’t see a sunrise when it’s raining, or from inside a room with west-facing windows or no windows at all.

A sunrise happens every morning without fail whether we can see it or not. Even if we are facing the correct direction with our eyes open on a cloudless day, we might not be able to see the masterpiece. Or at least all of it. Sometimes life gets in the way. Trees with thick branches made thicker with countless leaves may prevent you from fully seeing the rising sun. But if you look past the silhouetted limbs, you will be able to catch glimpses of the glory on the other side.

The sunrise is there. You just have to look harder to see it.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11