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| I WOKE UP THIS MORNING WITH SOMETHING ON MY MIND |
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I woke up this morning with something on my mind
I have a question for the owners of the Churches regarding offerings and tithes
I was looking at a t.v. program called FEED THE CHILDREN because they are hungry
My question would be. Is this not the churches duty?
Where is the money collected by tithes and offerings?
In just America I see many beautiful church buildings
Jesus' disciples showed by example what we must do. Not one of them had a lack
They shared all they had as I see in the book of Acts
Why then do I see such sufferings even here in America?
Are we not sure who is our neighbor and brother?
We judge those without and not those within
Are we doing what the Pharisees did?
They shut up the kingdom of heaven against men
They neither went in themselves nor is allowing others to go in
They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders
But they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers
But all their works they do for to be seen of men
They make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the boarders of their garments
They love the uppermost feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues
And greetings in the market , and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
But be ye not called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all you are brethren
And call no man upon earth your father for one is your father which is in heaven.
Neither be ye called master (leader), for one is your Master, even Christ
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Are we being obedient?
As I read the twenty-third chapter of Matthew, I know what I must do and how I must live
I must not be like the Scribes and Pharisees. I must give and give and give
Heavenly Father please hear this child
Lead me not into temptation to grieve You, lest I Spiritually die
Deliver me from evil thoughts, words and deeds
And Father, please make me to plant fruit bearing seeds.
I also pray for those yet to come
Cause your children to love them into Your kingdom
This heavy burden I bear what is on my mind
Cause me to be more generous, loving and kind.
Sincerely Written by: Marcia Balthazar
Inspired by: The Holy Spirit
5/24/09 |
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| To add a comment to "I WOKE UP THIS MORNING WITH SOMETHING ON MY MIND " |
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| May 24, 2009 |
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Father, open up the windows of heaven and bless us financially just for ministerial purposes. As You give you us, we will give back to YOU Father. In the name of Jesus. I agree with this blog. |
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| May 24, 2009 |
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| May 24, 2009 |
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| May 24, 2009 |
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| Beautiful and yes this is the Truth*
There should never be anyone going "hungry" in the Country...For the first time in my life I fear that.....it will happen here...
Thank you for your prayers and beautiful shares* |
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| May 24, 2009 |
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We do have to remeber sister that we need to give to missions and need ministries to help others... Of course it does take some monies to pay the churches utilities, insurance and etc... There is always so much to do and maintain and it is possible that some churches do not have lots of monies to assist in these kinds of need...
Of course they could take a personal collection from the church folks now and then to assist the hungry, instead of going out and buying steaks on Sunday afternoons... I am not sure (and please do not misunderstand me) if the question should or should not be... Why do not all Christians pay tithes to help meet the needs of the world...
I have been in church ministry and work for many years...
You find out there are many needs in maintaining a building and many things are needed and you must establish priorities and church folks want this (Sidewalk repairs/more lights... etc.) and that but many of them do not put much monies in the treasury...
I am not talking about churches that are flowing in monies but those that are endeavoring to meet their responsibilites and help others also...
But, also folks want to store up monies and build large buildings and then miss the direction of helping those in need and shut up their bowels of compassion...
They would rather buy fancy furniture and count their money instead of feeding the hungry... How Sad...
So an answer to your question: Because we have lost the compassion of Christ and are centered on the message of "PROPERITY"! and have forgotten how to sacrfice in order to provide for others...
Blessings In Him... :o)
Herman |
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| May 24, 2009 |
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SHARING EVERYTHING -- Acts 4:32 NIV
"No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had."
That sounds great, doesn't it? Or does it? Take a look around you. How many people do you know who are willing to share everything they have with others? I bet not many. If this were so, no one in your town would be hungry. There would be no homeless people. There would be no children doing without toys or going to sleep with empty stomachs. There would be no people dressed in rags. If a person in your church lost his job, he would have absolutely nothing to fear, because all of his family's needs would be met - every bill would be paid, every meal would be on the table, every needed piece of clothing would be bought, every medical need would be met - until he could find another job. No one would ever go bankrupt. No one would ever be without transportation. No one would ever be without anything he or she needed.
But that's not the case, is it? A few years ago, I heard about a family that had lost their home. All they had left was an old beat-up car. They drove that car to the parking lot of a church and parked, hoping that they might get help from those within. The family lived in that car on that parking lot for quite a while before anyone noticed. When they were finally noticed, they were given a few clothes and taken one time to the food pantry. And they were left to live in their car on that parking lot. Is that what those early believers would have done?
As you look at how you and your church respond to those in need around you, remember what Jesus said, …
"Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me..... I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me." Matthew 25:41b-43, 45
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| May 24, 2009 |
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BOOM!...** POW**... OUCH!... OH, MY!,... That was a good one Marcia. Seriously, I ask the Lord to forgive us more than anything. I can't stand to look at the pictures of hungry children while knowing that the narrators will fly back to their Giant White Church and hop into their Lexus. Shame on this broken fallen humanity. I love you Marcia. PS. For the record,.. I know there are some "few" churches that don't fall into this category (as you do too),... but MOST do! Ok, I'm done,... Thanks Marcia. Love ya. |
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| May 24, 2009 |
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| May 25, 2009 |
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Destiny thank you for the added prayers and your agreement. May your will be done in our lives Father, in the name of Jesus Christ.
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| May 25, 2009 |
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Joyful
Thank you for acknowledging this blog my friend. |
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| May 25, 2009 |
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Lynne
Thank you for your input. You left much to consider, especially the situation about the family living in their car. How sad in a country like America this will happen. I wonder about the various Government assisted programs and section 8 housing help. Some seem to have no problem getting help. I thank God that I never had cause to seek any help and do not know how the programs work. The Churches however, should provide for their own members who truly have a need and cannot get help from other sources, with the money they collect. That is why the tithe law was instituted by God in the old testament. The Israelites would give to the priest for their basic necessities because they did not get any land inheritance and they had to take care of the temple. Then the Priest would share with the people outside the gates. Every seventh year all debts would be cancelled.
My concern however is for the widows and orphans especially and I believe if more family members would help one another when needed we would also see a huge drop in people needing assistance from Government Agencies.
Direct Lynne's path Father according to Your Word, so that she may have no lack, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
Stand strong on His Word sister. He is faithful.
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| May 25, 2009 |
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Shofar Girl keep blowing the Shofar. Some will hear the call to repent and some will not. God will send rain on the just as well as the unjust until the day of harvest. We have to make sure we do what is necessary to enter into His kingdom my friend as you already know, to whom much is given much is required. When I write these blogs, they bring conviction to me in areas where I am lacking and I will be held accountable to every word I speak and that is a frightening thing.
Shalom to you my friend |
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| May 25, 2009 |
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It does seem like there are some really big churches that are barely able to even stay open for lack of members. Maybe in the prime of those ministries, instead of meeting the needs of the members, the leaders wanted a more impressive building? If so, they reaped a harvest of the seed they sowed. No love for the people, then slowly, no people. I maintain that money can corrupt even ministries. The church has failed in the area of welfare for the people so that the government had to step up and take that responsibility. However that is mans attempt without God and as evident by all of the corruption and fraud in the government programs, we reap the seed of neglect in the form of higher taxes. I do like what Peter said to the beggar that "silver and gold (money) I have not but what I do have, I give freely." Amen. |
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| May 25, 2009 |
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Hello my friend Herman
Thank you so much for your input. You have given me more room for thought in considering the men and women who run the churches. I wonder now if the tents were better in reaching more people, even though they were not considered proper as far as comfort? Perhaps we all need to get out of our comfortable pews and chairs and get down to the basic needs. I have realized that I do not need more that one set of dishes at a time. I do not need all the furniture and "things" that I have accumulated over the years, and yet I cannot sell or even give away the "stuff", because people in America have an abundance of "things" and do not want more. What we do need is to begin to teach good morals and just lead people to Christ and when they are disciplined to live the way Jesus taught, with compassion, then each one will save one and no one will be too burdened. Does this make sense? I know many are burdened to share what they have, but the see how people live these days and there are many who come for just what they can get from the churches, so that is another thing to realize. Not everyone who comes to church is coming for the right reason. I think we are going back to basics whether we want to or not. I see families having to get rid of the stuff and go back to basic necessities because they have to live with someone else and that may not be a bad thing. I miss the closeness families had when we did not have all the stuff. Neighbors had time to pray and speak to each other . If I did not have sugar, it was no big deal to borrow some from my neighbor, who was only too happy to concede and vice versa. I am sure you remember those days. So when did we fail to take our neighbor into consideration? When we got an abundance of stuff and when we began to sit in the padded pews of comfort. This blog is taking me to a place of soul searching. That is a good God thing. Thank you for your input my friend. |
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| May 25, 2009 |
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My dear friend Preston
Was this blog that hard on you? LOL.
Love you too my friend. Thanks for stopping by.
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| May 25, 2009 |
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The Talking Mule
Hello my friend. Thank you for your input. You summarized the whole thing in a nutshell. You reminded me that Peter had nothing physical but he had Spiritual Power. Jesus did tell His disciples to take nothing for their journey when He first sent them out. Perhaps having nothing will quicker lead people to have faith in God for their needs to be met rather than leaning on mankind? Which can be a good God thing. Just some further thoughts on this subject.
Shalom to you my friend |
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| May 25, 2009 |
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Hello my friend Renee
Thank you for stopping by and acknowledging. |
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| May 28, 2009 |
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Amen |
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