Tithe? Pt.2

"Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all." 1 Chronicles 29:11-12

Some people seem to push everything else aside and dedicate their lives to getting more and more things. They want their possessions to grow bigger. Now, God doesn’t say that having things is bad. In fact, he wants us to experience the joy of our surroundings. But an extreme attitude towards accumulation of stuff is called greed. It’s this attitude that causes us to miss out on so much of the life God has in store for us.

But when we acknowledge the reality that God is the one who blesses us, it causes us to break free from the chains of greed and materialism.

To live the sweet life and be in God’s favor, you need to realize that you are a manager of what you have been given, not an owner. Every one of us is here to simply be good stewards of the things God has entrusted to us. Because when we realize that, we discover the freedom to let those things flow through us so that we can in turn be a blessing to others.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tithe?

"Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." Proverbs 3:9-10

God has given us a tool to help us understand that we are managers. This tool helps us better resist the temptation to think that we are the creators of what God blesses us with. That tool is the tithe. Very simply, the tithe is 10% of whatever comes into your household.

Satan knows that the tithe is a powerful tool in our lives. And he is a master in how he deceives us and convinces us to hoard this resource rather than bringing it back to God. Satan’s goal is to keep us living outside of God’s blessing by whispering excuses into our lives like: “You can’t afford it,” or “It’s ok to just give a little bit after you take care of everything else.”

Whenever you are tempted to play the role of owner instead of being a good steward; whenever you are tempted to keep the tithe for yourself rather than returning it to God, just remember the motives of Satan. He doesn’t want you to be blessed, and doesn’t want you to be a blessing to others. Take care of first things first and always bring God what is rightfully his. Because when you are faithful in the tithe, the blessings you will experience will always be worth it!

Rich?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Think of John Wayne, Martha Stewart and Hillary Clinton. Isn’t it interesting how a name can conjure up certain associations in our mind? Whether or not these associations are accurate will depend on our actual knowledge of that person. The more we know, the more accurate we will be.

When we think of God, we can come up with all kinds of traits that make up his character. But to be accurate, we really need to see God as he is, and then mimic those traits in our lives. One characteristic that is commonly overlooked is God’s generosity.

God’s giving nature is evident throughout the Bible. He illustrates his generosity with the ultimate act of giving, which was expressed through the generous gift of his Son for the forgiveness of mankind. And we need to mirror God’s generosity in our life so that by example, others can be brought closer to God's Son - Jesus Christ!.

Freedom

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.
James 2:12

If you are a Christian, how do other people know? If you boil it down, what evidence shows others that you have accepted Christ as your Savior? It all comes down to actions, how you behave and treat others.

We are saved because of our profession of faith in God and what his Son, Jesus, did for us on the cross. We do not receive our salvation because of good behavior. But our faith should be evident in the things that we do. In other words, our talk and our walk have to be in sync.

No matter who we are dealing with at the time, God expects us to reveal Christ to others. The greatest way to do that is through our actions. God wants us to speak and act in ways that reflect his mercy, his grace and his forgiveness.

As you go through each day, look for ways to mirror the compassion of God. Exhibit kindness in everything you do and say. And readily offer forgiveness to those who have hurt you. Treat everyone as Christ has treated you, and you will discover the life-change that comes from being “judged by the law that gives freedom.”

Spiritual Maturity

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. James 2:8
Isn’t it interesting that this verse assumes we already love ourselves? God doesn’t have to instruct us to love ourselves. He knew that we would do that naturally.

Yet, “the royal law” tells us to put our neighbor into the spot we usually reserve for ourselves; to treat our neighbor the way we want to be treated. This law reflects the nature and character of God.

And if you think about it, if we could just follow this one rule, we wouldn’t need any other laws. There would be no envy, lust, jealousy, anger, materialism. If we obeyed this royal law, we would be living like royalty—set apart.

When you are trying to grow deeper in your relationship with Christ, first make sure you’re doing all you can to follow the royal law. No book or Bible study will do more for your spiritual maturity than doing all you can to love your neighbor as yourself.

Instead of tugging, learn to ...

"...because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!" James 2:13

One of the statements or criticisms made by people who don’t follow Christ is that Christianity is a crutch for the weak. But this verse shows that the Christian life is not for the timid. It takes incredible strength to stand up for mercy and to treat others the way God has commanded.

When we clock out of this life, every one of us will stand before God. And it’s then that he is going to judge us; he’s going to make us give an account of every word, thought and action we ever said, thought or did while we were here on earth. And he is going to show us the same kind of mercy that we showed to others.

That is actually a difficult reality to face. When we get cut off in traffic or someone jams us or talks about us behind our back, our instinct is to lash out and get them back, to hold a grudge or wish them harm. But that’s exactly when we need to remember this verse.

God is going to hold you to the same standard you use with others. So don’t judge, and don’t lash out or hold grudges. Instead, release that situation into God’s hands. Exhibit the strength of mercy, which triumphs over all, and then you can truly say you tried to reach people for Christ!

Christian?

The word "Christian" dates back to the early days of the Church, after the gospel had begun to spread throughout the world. The ironic thing is that, originally, the term was meant as an insult toward those who were walking in the footsteps of Jesus.

In today’s culture, the term Christian is one that those who accept Christ as Savior have chosen for themselves. But like then, many Christians still face ridicule.

If you find yourself being slandered because of your beliefs or ridiculed because of your faith, don’t give up hope. And don’t allow it to keep you from reaching out the way God wants you to.

Instead, use the opportunity to show people what it truly means to be a Christian. Let your reaction be to show them God’s love. And pray for them in the name above all other names, Jesus Christ.