The Rich Young Ruler

On January 18, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Mark 10: 21               

And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack; go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

The body of Christ is so confused about finances. The misconceptions and misunderstandings are prolific. I find that it is difficult for many pastors to teach on the subject because they fear their congregation will misunderstand them and think that the pastor is trying to get something from them. This is an area that is important for us to understand, especially in today’s economy. We need to understand what God has to say about finances so that we can plot our course according to his way.

This story of the rich, young ruler is one of the most misunderstood and misquoted of them all. The first thing we might notice is that Jesus felt a love for this man. He was a ruler and he was abundantly rich. We have been taught that Jesus liked neither rulers nor rich people. Well, you can throw that teaching straight in the garbage because it is in direct contradiction to the word of God. This fellow was a man after Jesus’ own heart. Jesus looked upon him with love, not disdain. Jesus was so touched by the heart of this man that he wanted to fellow to follow him.

Now here we have a well propertied ruler. The guy had kept his life straight, obeying the commandments all the days of his life. This was apparently a profitable lifestyle because the chap ends up (at a young age) a ruler and very wealthy. Jesus saw in the man the very characteristics that he was trying to teach to his followers. This man was a living testament to Jesus’ teaching; except for one thing. Jesus said that he lacked one thing. What was that one thing? Jesus did not tell us. But he told the man to sell his stuff and follow Him. Apparently, Jesus intended that in following Him, the young man would gain the one thing he lacked.

We have turned this story into an anti-wealth message when it is exactly the opposite. Tomorrow we will delve further into this story and see what the Lord will teach us from it.

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A Model Example

On January 15, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Genesis 14: 18 -21

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tenth of all.

It is a little difficult to tell what is going on here without reading the entire story so let me expound just a little. Abraham, before his name was changed from Abram to Abraham, had gone out to battle against some kings. These kings had, as part of their spoils from previous battle, taken Lot and his family captive. So, Abram (Abraham) went out against them in order to rescue Lot, his nephew. Abram won and reclaimed all the goods and people that had been taken. Melchizedek, who was a high priest, ministered to Abram after the battle and blessed Abram and Abram gave to Melchizedek a tenth of all the spoil or tenth of all of the income of the battle. This is the model of the tithe. As you read on in the story, you find out that various distributions were made after the battle. In fact, Abram ended up keeping nothing. It is interesting to note, though, that the ten percent was paid over to Melchizedek before any other distributions were made. That is the tithe and it provides that there will always be food in the house of God to meet every need.

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Food Stores

On January 14, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Malachi 3: 10

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this”, says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”

This is the leading scripture on tithing. There are different ways to give to the Lord, the most basic of which is the tithe. “Tithe” literally means 10%. The first ten percent of our income is given into the house of the Lord for its support. In the old days people actually gave food stuffs. This, then, was how the priests ate. You see that the verse says, “so that there may be food in My house.” Truth be told, this is still how the ministers eat. The tithe supports the ministers as well as supporting the work of the ministry. The theory is that the ministers feed you with what God has given them to sow and you feed them with what God has given you.

Father God is serious about this. He is serious about the blessing that He has appointed for the tithers. You can see this in His promise to open His storehouse for us and in His permission for us to hold His feet to the fire on this promise. He says, “Test me now in this.” That is an amazing statement for Him to make, that we should put God to the test!

So, the tithe is the first ten percent of our income and it is paid into the church for its support. God always has a reward attached to all of our giving and the opened storehouses of heaven are the reward for tithers. In addition, verse 11 says that He, God, “will rebuke the devourer” for our sakes if we are tithers. He protects our crop and all that we own so that the devourer does not diminish it in any way. That is a pretty big benefit by itself.

My advice, then, is to become a tither if you are not. It is just fiscal foolishness not to. In today’s economic climate, you really do need to be connected to God’s storehouse, to His provision. Then you will always know where your next meal ticket will come from. This is how we store up for ourselves, not by hoarding.

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Generous Growth

On January 13, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 11: 24 – 25

There is one who scatters, yet increases all the more and there is one who withholds what is justly due, but it results only in want. There generous man will be prosperous and he who waters will himself be watered.

How is it that the one who gives generously shall increase all the more while the person who hordes shall experience lack? It hardly makes sense. This, however, is the law of sowing and reaping that Jesus taught his disciples and is still teaching us today. This is how the Kingdom of God works. You cannot reap a harvest without putting some seed in the ground. When the Israelites were being fed in the desert by manna from heaven, they found that when they tried to store away extra, it rotted. That is what happens with our resources. I am all for saving but not at the cost of being tight fisted and stingy. The Kingdom goes to those who learn how to give.

I have noticed that the people who get the most disturbed about Christians and especially ministers having substance are those who are not givers. The reason might be that they simply do not have a revelation yet of how generous Father God is yet. They seem afraid to release anything that belongs to them. Once they find out that there is joy in giving then they will no longer be afraid of loss. Then, perhaps, they will not begrudge others having material wealth because they will understand two important principles. First, they will not fear that someone else having wealth means that they will somehow be deprived and second, they will understand that those people acquired their substance through their own generosity as the scripture says. Once we understand how the kingdom of God works and have experienced God’s generosity in our own lives then there really is no place for fear of lack or jealousy.

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Abundant Grace

On January 12, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Timothy 1: 14                   (Amplified Version)

And the grace (unmerited favor and blessing) of our Lord actually flowed out superabundantly and beyond measure for me, accompanied by faith and love that are to be realized in Christ Jesus.

This passage was written by the Apostle Paul. He was recounting how he blasphemed the Lord and persecuted the church. Yet nonetheless, Christ, through grace, showed him mercy. How is it that the Lord was willing and able to show such kindness to this man even while he was torturing and murdering Christians? The mercy of the Lord and of our Father is beyond comprehension. Jesus poured out on Paul superabundant favor and blessing. It certainly was not because Paul earned it. It comes just from the Father’s deep love.

Paul, unlike so many modern Christians, was able to receive God’s abundance. Why? I believe the answer is two-fold. I think that one of the reasons Paul was able to receive God’s abundant, beyond measure grace is that he, first, completely knew that he was unworthy and undeserving. This freed him to just receive by grace. He did not try to earn God’s favor because he knew that he was way beyond that.

Secondly, I think that Paul was so humble and grateful that his heart was wide open before the Lord of grace. I deeply desire for the church to draw close to God just as Paul was intimate with him. We see the abundant love and grace that the Father has for us. Now if we can sincerely open ourselves to him the way Paul did, we might also walk in the kind of grace that was afforded Paul. Let us not wait for God to knock us off our donkeys though. Let us all, with blind faith, reach out to the source of all and invite him into the deepest part of our beings.

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Free Admission

On January 11, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Hebrews 4: 16

Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Do you know that you can enter God’s throne room? Do you realize that you are actually invited to do so? Father God has made access to him available to each one of us so that we may receive the help we need. Not only that, but we are also to enter boldly with confidence. He is our Father not a far off, removed deity. We can be like any child entering her Father’s office. Children just barge into their parent’s offices without waiting just as if it was their own office. In like manner, we are to go boldly to our Father’s office to talk with him and get whatever we need whenever we need it. There is no guard at the door and you do not have to make an appointment. He is waiting there for you even at this moment. Whenever you can free up your schedule, He is available. See yourself in your mind’s eye striding purposefully into throne room. Walk in as a privileged guest, not as a meek servant. Have your audience with the God of the universe, your Dad, and receive all that you need for this day.

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Abide Securely

On January 8, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 3: 23 – 24

Then you will walk in your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid.

Those two verses contain some very nice promises. I imagine that every person would greatly desire the security and steadiness spoken of in those two short verses. They really include a rather large promise. But the first word of the passage indicates that there is something which precedes this divine security. The entire third proverb is about wisdom and Verse 21 tells what leads a person to this specific kind of protected existence. We are directed to pursue wisdom and understanding and specifically to keep sound wisdom and discretion. By wisdom, God created all the heavens and earth. By them, we live in His secure place. We are to live a discrete life, following God’s wisdom and his ways. Wisdom is found by those who seek her. She is found through the pages of his word and meditation therein. Nothing can replace the time we individually spend with God’s word. He is His word and He reveals Himself to us in these pages. Seek wisdom for she will guard your way and be a lamp unto your feet. You will live in peace and comfort.

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