Tithing & The Stimulus Package

Matt 22:15-22 & Mal 3:8-12

Well our new President has put his own stamp on our economy with his new stimulus bill. The details are slowing leaking out about this bill. One of the details that catches my attention is the tax deduction of charitable giving. The reports are that this deduction will be removed for people making over certain amounts. The reporter said this will hurt charities all across the country including Churches. The passages listed above make it clear that the Lord wants us to pay our taxes and give our Tithe. The difference in the two is seen in the words "pay & give". Don't get me wrong the Lord is clear in Mal 3:8 that we are robbing God when we don't give but he wants us to be cheerful givers II Cor 9:7. We should not give to get a tax deduction this means we are giving for the wrong reason. The Lord makes it clear in Matt 22 he does not connect the two identities together. He said give each its due. When the government calculates taxes its off the top that's the least we can do for the Lord. I guess if the tax deduction was removed all together we might find our motives & faith tested even more. We are being encouraged even taught more and more to trust our government to take care of us. It all most seems like they are trying to take away the very thing that can take care of us as a nation. I want to remind myself and everyone else our trust is in the Lord so when or if the government decides to take away the deduction for charities we don't flinch and give in to fear. You see many people will begin to think in their minds if I am giving $100 and this change raises my taxes by $25 I will reduce my giving by $25 no big deal. It is a big deal because we are telling the Lord the government is bigger than you. I say pay the extra $25 and keep giving your $100 and trust the Lord.

A Look at People -Vision Part 1

Let’s start by saying if we want to know God’s view on man then we need to open his Word.

People say that Love is Blind but God’s Word I believe teaches just the opposite.

Let’s start with blurred vision by searching the passage found in Luke 10:25-37.

The story of the Good Samaritan is known around the world by many even by those that are not Christians.

• Let’s look at three examples of Blurred Vision

Luke 10:30-Thieves- saw robbed, beat and left for dead
Root Problem-Lack of Love
Symptom-Vision Problem- Blind
Result- Saw no value in man’s life

Luke 10:31-Priest- Saw and went out of his way to avoid
Root Problem-Lack of Love
Symptom -Vision Problem- Distorted Vision
Result-Could not see the need in man’s life

Luke 10:32-Levite-saw,looked and still ignored
Root Problem-Lack of Love
Symptom-Vision Problem- Near Sighted
Result-Could not see any hope for this life


• God’s View is found in the Samaritan

Luke 10:33-Saw and had compassion
Vision-Saw the need
Result- Moved to action

Luke 10:34-Went to him and helped with the need
Vision- Saw he had to go to him
Result- healing began

Luke 10:35-He took care of the immediate need and made promise of future needs being met.
Vision- He saw the needs in the future
Result- The need was met completely


It is clear the Samaritan is a type of Christ himself.

Christ sees us as that man in the ditch (our righteousness are as filthy rags, we can’t get out of the ditch on our own, if left to ourselves we are certainly doomed). Christ came to get us out of the ditch but that was not enough for Christ. He picked us up, cleaned us up and provides for us each and every day. Take a closer look at this Samaritan and you will see that he promises to come back and pay off the final debt.

Praise the Lord our Savior is not finished yet. He has only made the down payment on what he intends to finish one day soon.

You see the little verse we all learned when we were kids is really true.

John 3:16-For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

This is why I know that real Love is not blind! He saw our real need and came to us when we could not go to him.

How does Prayer bring Peace?

Phil 4:6-8

As I was read the passage above I realized prayer is not just asking God for things but it’s so much more than that. God says I tell you don’t worry but pray because the result of prayer is my peace which keeps (protects) your heart (from wrong feelings) & your mind (from wrong thoughts). God understands our human frailties and he knows when troubles come we can allow our thoughts and emotions to overcome us. Many times our trials are more perceived than real. The old saying perception is reality. I just know in my own life many times I even worry about things that could happen that may never even come about in real life. He wants us to trust him to have faith in him. Faith requires actions it is not a feeling. Prayer is that action! When we pray our feelings and thoughts are on our Lord and Savior not on the problem. It is on the problem solver. I am encouraged more than ever to pray knowing that through prayer I am keeping my heart (from wrong feelings) & keeping my mind (from wrong thoughts). It can also be applied to real not perceived trails that we do face in our lives. In day to day life the trails that we face can bring us down spiritually. How can the Lord tells us in verse 4 to rejoice when we are hurting in our lives? How can he tell us to think on good things and even name what to think about in verse 8? The key again is the protection prayer offers the center of our lives. God promises to keep our mind and heart if we pray. The daily battle in the Christian life starts and ends with the heart and mind. That's why it says God's Peace! The world can not give this kind of protection or peace.

Fireproof

The movie Fireproof is debuting as I write this article on Friday Sept 26th. The reason I chose this subject is the movie is about marriage. In the last six weeks I have had two good friends call or email me and tell me their wives were leaving them and filing for divorce. I will spare you the details but needless to say in divorce situations both parties bear some of the blame and I would not begin to defend one side of the other. As the NHLA converges on the fair city of San Francisco I begin to think of this city and one thing does come to mind. The fight going on in CA over what marriage should be and I certainly have my opinion on this subject but the truth is my opinion does not matter. It is God’s opinion that matters and his alone. Christians from all over the country protest, write blogs, write to the local editorial pages, sign petitions and are very active on this subject trying to influence the direction our country is going. I commend them for this effort. I would like to take a minute to look at this situation from a different point of view, not from a different opinion. We are all concerned with the direction of our country and the influences pulling at our children. Our kids are confused by what surrounds them today in the world but what confuses them even more is indifference in the Christian realm to real marriage. We say as Christian’s, marriage is between one woman and one man. I say we are not teaching our kids that to be true when there are just as many divorces in the Christian community. Maybe the answer to solving this problem we face in helping define marriage is being undermined by our own behavior in our homes. Our kids need to see us love more, care more, pray more etc, etc. I think you get the idea. This article is not intended to be a counseling piece for marriages in trouble. This article is intended to get our focus on the main thing. The old saying “keep the main thing the main thing” is very true. Our kids need to see what a family is on a daily basis not hear about what a family isn’t. You can’t have one without the other. My understanding is when the FBI trains their people about counterfeit money they have them study the real thing so much that when they see counterfeit money it stands out. If you try and study all the ways to counterfeit then you lose focus. I say let our kids study the real thing in our homes and then we can have confidence they will be able to spot the fake when the time comes. Please don’t misunderstand, I do believe we should stand up for what is right and do all the things mentioned above when confronted with sin but we can’t ignore the impact our daily lives have on our children. I want to encourage you to take the time and go with your family to see the new movie Fireproof. If you want information about this movie please visit www.fireproofthemovie.com and I believe we should support good movies at the theatre if we want more of these types of programs to be produced. If you have friends that are struggling in their marriage then I encourage you to invite them to come along and see this movie together. You might just help influence them to try and improve their marriage relationship. Let’s fight just as hard to save our marriages as we do on other commendable social issues. One line from this movie says it all “NEVER LEAVE YOUR PARTNER BEHIND”!