A Late Request – Desperate Plea

Well, I am about to break the one steadfast rule I’ve had on this blog since the beginning.  I don’t ask for money.  I fund this ministry/website out of my own pocket and try to avoid arguments that I am selling out or support tithing because tithes support me.  But I am in a quandary.  Not one that affects the site – yet – but one that affects me personally.

As my loyal readers know, I was in the middle of a messy divorce a little while back that cost me the rental property my ex and I operated because she refused to pay the mortgage or give me the rental income to do so.  Now the  final property-related nail is coming as a result of her bankruptcy and foolishness.  I am about to be foreclosed on by my bank for the house that I am currently living in.  Now, I did my best to pay the mortgage, but unfortunately, circumstances got the better of me.  Over the last 2 years, I’ve lost a number of my sources of income as the economy kept sliding and government and tourism-related industries kept cutting back.

Despite being willing to do just about anything and humbling myself, applying for literally hundreds of jobs, I am still jobless, my income is steadily decreasing and I am barely making ends meet.  Unfortunately, the mortgage was one of those things that just didn’t get taken care of in a timely basis and now the bank has called their note due.

When I was first served, I went through my affirmative defenses – one of which being that my ex-wife signed a quit claim deed, divesting herself of this house.  To date, the bank has still not recognized it and her name appears prominently on the foreclosure papers, myself, who continued to pay the mortgage long after she stopped, is relegated to a secondary defendant.  My biggest defense was that the bank had refused to accept and properly credit some of my payments, holding the money, as a bank employee explained to me, “in limbo.”  The banks lawyers have responded to that claim and offered me two options, after adjusting for the money that was never credited ($500+, not counting the interest and fees that they didn’t credit me for).

My two options are this: pay approx. $212,000 to pay off the loan, or approx. $40,000 to cover the missed payments, interest, lawyer’s fees, etc. etc.)  And I have until 5pm on April 1^st to deliver that payment to their offices in Fort Lauderdale.  Considering that I have just enough to cover my electric bill this month and am eating courtesy of Food Stamps, that is far outside my reach.

Praying for a miracle, it came to me that I might ask if people would be willing to help me out.  $40K is not really that much, in the big picture and even small donations would help whittle this down.  I am not sure if this insight came from the Lord or not.  I was praying when it occurred to me, but my only experiences with hearing God were both forgiveness-oriented, so I can’t really tell.  Usually, I get insights from the Holy Spirit where I suddenly understand or realize some deeper truth or concept and I don’t want to misrepresent my Lord.

I have committed that any money I receive from this will be paid back to the donor/patron, unless they specifically state for me not to, in which case, I will pay to help out others needs on their behalf.

Also, I would prefer to do something rather than just take donations.  As I said, every little bit helps and I do have some skills that I can apply that are of value.

I sell books, CD’s, DVD’s and toys on Amazon – my site is Books From A Rose and I have between 2400 and 2500 items currently up for sale.  If you’re looking for something, please take a moment and see if I have it.  If I don’t, I would also recommend some friends of mine that helped me get started in this enterprise, Pursel Books.  They sell a quite a number of items on Amazon and eBay and may very well have what you need.

I am a writer.  I spent almost 20 years in the local TV business, writing news, commercials and promotional spots.  You can see some of my TV work at www.YouTube.com/user/lonerangerone. I also have written some plays over the years and am currently working on a couple of screenplays.  I have done reviews for Title Trakk, and I was the Senior Editor for Television for Infuze Magazine, before we were closed down, working with novelist Robin Parrish and music producer & novelist Matt Bronlewee.  I used to write songs back in the day – one was even performed as part of my church’s worship service.

I shoot, produce and edit video.  Okay, I am an okay video shooter… Great if I have a tripod.  I am a great editor, though.  Having learned from some of the best and learned how things were done, “back in the day…” I can find a way to make just about any video look the way you envision.  I have shot VHS and BETA, DV, HD-DV, and 8mm.  I have edited on everything from AVID Media Composer (my favorite) to Media 100, Pinnacle VideoCube, Apple Final Cut, Speed Razor, Boris FX, New Tek Video Toaster, Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere.  When I worked for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, I also did Forensic Video Processing and was a member of Law Enforcement Video Association (LEVA).

I design, build and maintain websites.  While I am still exploring much of this field and I cannot do killer Flash opens and whatnot, I am pretty decent and very affordable.  I use Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Fireworks.  My work is available at www.StarlightstudioProductions.com, www.FASN.net, www.MartyWisher.com, www.UFTAFlorida.com, www.FamilyofGod.us, and this site, www.FinancialFreedomThroughFaith.org.  I am familiar with WordPress themes, editing them and promoting them.

I am a pretty good actor and I am a partner with the production company Starlight Productions, we do celebrity impersonations, character work and Murder Mysteries.  We just finished our first feature length film, “Light.”  I am also the sitting President of United Film & Television Artists (UFTA) a non-profit that helps filmmakers and actors with support and promoting our area as a film location.

My other company, 13/30 Productions, does media and business promotion.  We provide newsletters, websites, press releases, social media marketing, etc., all to help small businesses get the word out about their product or service to their potential customers.  I try to apply all of my skills as a designer, writer, promoter and video producer to help my clients get their message out at an affordable price.  If you need a little more Internet-based solution, my girlfriend runs Small Business Development Group, specializing in Affordable Internet Marketing Solutions and Search Engine Optimization.

I am a pretty good speaker.  I used to teach when I worked in Financial Services and I gave a few lectures/presentations on Financial Freedom for Christians.  I have written and given a few sermons that I thought were pretty good.  They are posted on this site: What Would Luther Say?, The Waiting is the Easy Part, and eternal sunshine for the Transformed mind.

I have not given up on my vision for a financial non-profit company that would help people in the same need I am in.  That will come to pass one day.  That was from God and it is often those he humbles that have the strongest commitments.

If there’s any way I can help you or work I can do for you, please let me know.  I am a hard worker and willing to do what it takes.  I serve God and when I can man, and I do my very best.

I will update everyone when I return from Fort Lauderdale on April 1^st.

If you feel led to make me an interest free loan or invest in one of my talents, you can contact me at lonerangerone@gmail.com.  If you feel like helping out the old fashioned way, my mailing address appears below also.  If you do not feel led, that’s really okay, I just ask that you pray for me, regardless.    Thank you in advance, and may God bless you richly.

Paul A. Rose, Jr.

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Mailing Address: Paul A. Rose, Jr. PO Box 151443 Cape Coral, FL 33915

Make a Donation through PayPal

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New Sale Items Posted

I just posted a number of new Christian books and music on my Amazon reseller site, including a rare Mylon LeFevre and Broken Heart cassette, “Crack the Sky,” still sealed in shrinkwrap.  I’m dating myself here, but I remember buying the album before it was commercially released, at their concert back in 1987, with the NewsBoys.  Boy have times changed.  Take a moment to check out my Amazon site if you’re looking for Christian music or books, old or vintage.  Thanks!

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The Waiting is the Easy Part

Once again, I had the opportunity to offer the sermon for the Sunday after Christmas, since our regular pastor is visiting his family in West Virginia.  So what follows is the essential make-up of what I spoke on, Sunday, December 28th.

There’s an old church joke you may have heard before, I’d like to share with you:

There was an economist who was reading 2 Peter 3:8-9 and was quite amazed by it and decided to ask God about it.

He prayed, “Lord, is it true that a thousand years are just like one minute to you?”

The Lord replied, “Yes.”

The economist said, “Well then a million dollars to us must be like one penny to you.”

The Lord replied again, “Well, yes.”

Thinking he had the perfect plan, the economist then asked, “Lord, can I have a penny?”

To which the Lord replied, “Absolutely.  Just give Me a minute.”

How often do we find ourselves in this economist’s position, praying for what we think we need and struggling when God’s response appears to be, “Wait”

The Gospel passage for this week that churches across the country are teaching from is Luke 2:21-40, often known as Simeon’s Song.  If you could turn in your Bibles to that passage, and if you don’t have a Bible with you, there are some under most of the chairs.  Luke is the third Gospel, in the New Testament.  Just a few days ago, we covered most of the first two chapters during Christmas Eve services…

Luke writes, “On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.   When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29″Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”

33The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

36There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

39When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.”

This entire reading is about waiting.  Jesus waits a week to be circumcised, Mary waits 33 days from the circumcision to be purified and reenter the temple, according to the Levitical law.  Anna had been worshipping at the Temple for probably more than 60 years, waiting for something.  Simeon had been waiting for many years, for he had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Christ.  Now, we don’t know how old he was at the time, although there is a traditional Eastern Orthodox story that would place his age at somewhere around 200+ years at the time he met the Holy Family at the Temple in Jerusalem.  Imagine waiting for almost two centuries for a promise to be fulfilled.  But not only that, it says that Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel.

It’s probably not news to you that we as Americans, hate to wait.  We buy microwave dinners, TiVo our favorite shows to watch them commercial-free and logon to the Internet to get our news, rather than waiting for the paper or even the 6 o’clock news.  Yet, we just finished a time of waiting – the season of Advent, a time of waiting and anticipation of the birth of Jesus.  It may surprise you to learn this, but Advent isn’t just a time that commemorates the waiting for Jesus’s birth – it is also the time for anticipating and the celebration of waiting for His eventual return.

So even here in Florida, we’ve been looking forward to Christmas for at least 4 weeks.  Of course, the stores, in a desperate quest for more of our dollars, have been waiting for Christmas since Halloween.  Which just proves that they don’t watch their own sales figures – which show that the last two weekends prior to Christmas are the busiest shopping days of the year.  In fact, Black Friday traditionally ranks as the 8^th busiest shopping day of the year, despite all the ads in the Thanksgiving papers.

The season of Christmas, which for the church started on Wednesday night and continues through the next couple of weeks, is about celebrating that the Lord has fulfilled his promise.  It’s reminding us that the waiting is worth it – the promise will be fulfilled in His time, and we will be even better for having waited for it.  I have often thought that when Jesus said in John 14 that he was going to prepare a place for us, he also meant that he was going to prepare us for that place.

Waiting is hard, but it is essential to the Christian walk, which is why some find it so hard to follow Christ, and others preach shortcuts to God’s blessings and peace.  In his book, Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent, Ben Peterson writes, “What God does in us while we wait is as important as what it is we are waiting for.”

So if we find ourselves waiting, we have to ask, what is God trying to teach me in this place, at the same time realizing that we may not divine the answer or even realize it in hindsight when the waiting we are doing has past.

The second thing this passage teaches is about Reconciliation.  The act of Mary’s being cleansed by the sacrifice is the act of reconciling her body to once again be able to worship God in the Temple.  The consecration of Jesus as the first born is part of God’s reconciliation for the sins of Cain and Adam, both “first” born.

In verse 25, it mentions that Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel.  Seven hundred years prior to this instant, Isaiah had prophesied that one would come to reconcile not only the nation of Israel, but also the Gentiles – a portion of the prophecy many in the Temple at the time of Simeon discounted or disbelieved.  Yet Simeon proves he knows his Isaiah – part of his song directly references two passages in Isaiah,

“I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, (Isaiah 42:6)

“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)

And now Simeon knows he can die in peace, dismissed from his service to God.  Even his death, when it comes, will be a sign of hope.

What’s more, the prophetess Anna also proclaims to all that were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem, that the child was to fulfill that prophecy.  Unfortunately, I’m sure many of them misunderstood what form the redemption of Israel would take, just as they would 33 years later.

In just a few days, we’ll be celebrating a new year.  2008, for good or bad, will be over and 2009 will begin.  The new year is often a time of change, a time when people have their hopes raised and the future seems somehow brighter, regardless of what may actually happen.  And this year, for many seems like an even bigger and brighter new beginning.

Just three weeks from now, we will be inaugurating a brand new president.  President-elect Barack Obama campaigned on a platform of change, that, whether you agree with him or not, resonated with a large portion of the American population.  A population tired of housing slumps, foreclosures, bankruptcies, economic bail-outs and rising unemployment rates.

Obama promises to eliminate all of those worries in a sweeping, expensive ‘New Deal’ style package that could be the most dramatic start to a presidency since Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s first hundred days in office.  Barack Obama is promising a redemption of the United States, a return to its greatness.  Will Obama truly bring about a change like many hope?  I don’t know, although if history is any reflection, then the answer is probably no.

But regardless of the success of our new president, we have to ask ourselves, where does our hope lie?  Does it lie in politicians and presidents?  Does it lie in money or possessions?  Does it lie in relationships – families, friendships?

Humans have a tendency to look in the wrong places to find their answers – or to forget what sustained them when they had no answers.

When God led the people of Israel out of Egypt under Moses’ leadership, he set them free from a life of slavery, building temples to other people’s gods.  He brought them, eventually, to the Promised Land – or at least their descendants.  Yet, just a few generations later, in an eerie reflection of their slavery in Egypt, Solomon, the son of David, is using slave labor to build the Temple of the Lord, among other things.  After the dedication of the Temple, God comes again to Solomon to warn him what will happen if the Israelites forget their deliverer and turn to serve other gods.  Solomon promises to obey, but halfway through his reign, he has gotten comfortable, disobedient and forgets who gave him the power he wields, prompting God to punish his descendants and once again tear the Israelites from their home, this time culminating with the destruction of the temple, losing the Ark of the Covenant, and more.

In his latest book, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, Rob Bell points out,

“That’s always the danger, isn’t it?  That we’ll be broken, our empires will collapse, we’ll cry out for help, and when that help comes, when we get back on our feet, when there’s money in our account again, and things are back to how they were, the danger is, once we get it back – whatever ‘it’ is – we’ll forget what just happened.”

We’ll forget that Jesus is the one who saves us, who gives us hope, even in the darkest times, even in the deepest recessions.  I don’t have any figures to back this up, but it looks like church attendance is up across the nation over the past few months.  Not just Christmas Eve, but every Sunday, as people search for answers to the problems in their lives.  The question is, once they have some answers, once they are back on their feet, once their investments start performing again, will they continue to serve God, or will they forget where their hope came from in light of their new-found blessings?  And are we any better?

Our church body, small as it may seem, sponsored two families for Thanksgiving and two more families for Christmas.  In this time of struggling economy, we looked at our blessings, even the small ones, and chose to give, in some cases sacrificially, some of that back to members of our community that were struggling even more than we were.

The challenge is, when things turn around – when we do see better days – and we will see better days – history has taught us that – the United States still holds 90% of the world’s wealth, not to mention other benefits that the rest of the world can’t even imagine – when the waiting is over and the promise comes true, will we still be focused on the One who gives us hope?  Will we remember who He is and what He has called us to do?  Or will we be more like the Israelites, turning our back on the One who saved us and sustained us.

My prayer for you is that you patiently and prayerfully endure the waiting, while seeking to learn and grow, so that when the promise is fulfilled, you remember He who gave you all things, even the very ability to work and earn money.  Reconciliation that leads to hope.  Amen.

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Title Trakk’s Fantastic Fall Giveaway

I don’t publish stuff like this very often on this site, but my friends over at TitleTrakk.com are hosting a huge fall party in cooperation with InPop (Newsboys) Records and Harvest House Publishers.  I’m promoting it as part of their First Ever Blog Tour.  I should also mention that I occasionally (too occasionally) write reviews for them, including my recent thoughts about the movie Henry Poole Is Here.

If you’re at all a fan of faith-based fiction and music, regardless of the creators, check out their site, and submit your name and addy for a chance at winning a bucketload full of CD’s, books and DVD’s.  Hey, what have you got to lose?

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Stewardship Apart From God?

This past weekend I attended a Stewardship training conference for the Lutheran churches in the Florida-Bahamas Synod.  I am the worship leader and stewardship chair for my church, Family of God in Cape Coral, FL, and I went with my pastor and another member of the church to this 1 day conference, hoping to learn something.  Sadly, all I really learned was how far out of step many in the church are.

The day began with prayer – always a good thing – then Pastor Rita, the pastor that serves as the Bishop’s right hand, er, person, did a demonstration of how stewardship works.  If you’ve been around business a while, you’ve probably seen this particular object lesson before – I believe Stephen Covey was the first to use it many years ago.

Pastor Rita pulled out a glass food storage jar and asked folks what kind of minor bills they had to pay – electric, cable, entertainment, food, etc… Then she filled a good portion of the jar with unpopped popcorn.  Turning to larger expenses, she placed pieces of fruit in the jar to indicate our mortgage, car payments, insurances, and finally, with a large grapefruit, our offerings to God.  Of course, the grapefruit stuck out considerably and the point was made – put first things first.  Which was good, and I agree – I always remind people that your tithe is specifically mentioned as coming from your First Fruits.  In fact, back when I was struggling with money, but still wanted to make Christ a priority, I forced myself into a physical discipline to reflect the spiritual discipline.  At the time, I was using a modified version of the envelope system and I forced myself, when I cashed my paycheck, to immediately take out the 10% I wanted to give back to God, so that I was reinforcing, in my mind if no where else, the First Fruits concept.

But I noticed something odd when Pastor Rita reversed the process.  She first added the grapefruit (tithes), then the mortgage fruit, the car payments fruit (a lime), then the insurances, then poured the popcorn over, leaving, about 1-1/2 inches of empty space at the top.  “And that,” she declared, “is the best example I’ve ever seen of how steawardship works.”  Well, this immediately bothered me and I got distracted trying to figure out why.  Then it hit me – here we were, at a church function, surrounded by a few dozen pastors, and NO ONE had mentioned Kingdom Finances.

You see, Pastor Rita’s example was fine – in fact it was a great explanation for the Pareto Principle, espoused by John Maxwell.  However, other than the admonition to put our commitment to God first, it really didn’t illustrate at all the Kingdom Economic principles.  After much thought, I determined what I think is the best way she could have continued the existing example, but bring God into it more:

Place the jar inside a 2″ deep baking pan.  Then take a pitcher of water and pour it over the entire container, filling up the remaining space within the jar and spilling out over into the pan.  You see, when you place God first in your finances, He responds to that – because He wants to, because He loves us – by filing us up to overflowing – providing not only for our needs, but blessing us with an abundance so that we may bless others.  Later in the seminar, during a question and answer session, I brought that up.  I asked, “I know we’re struggling in many churches just to get people to tithe (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is ahead of the ballgame – 2.5% of their members tithe as opposed to the national average in all churches, 1.9%), but why are we not even discussing offerings – those gifts that go above the tithe?”

His response was sadly typical.  While he agreed with me that the tithe should be a floor, not a ceiling, he kind of danced around the fact that there was more of a fear mentality in the Lutheran church than one of looking to bless others – despite Martin Luther‘s personal stance on this issue.

Just to finish off, at the conclusion of the seminar, wherein they handed out materials to all of the attendees that they told us to use in our churches, I noticed that absolutely nothing had been said about teaching the children stewardship.  Maybe it’s just because we are in Florida, often joked about as “God’s waiting room,” but I thought it odd that we were not encouraged to teach our children stewardship, tithing and giving.  When I inquired, I was told that I could request materials via e-mail from the speaker and he would be happy to send them to me, yet no mention was made of this to the larger group.  Which wouldn’t be as big a deal if they hadn’t interrupted our discussion just a few minutes before to explain how to handle snowbirds & part-time residents.  Apparently, they are more important to this church than raising up their children (as few as they are) in the proper Christian beliefs and faith.

On a somewhat related, but different note, an interesting thing has been happening in my area of Southwest Florida recently.  A few short weeks ago, one of our officers at the Fort Myers Police Department was shot in the line of duty.  While I had only met Andy once, I have known his wife and her family for the better part of 25 years.  As part of the community coming together, a number of officers from all of our local police agencies volunteered to stand outside of various shopping centers and Wal-Marts, collecting donations for the family, who has three very young children.  The donations collected (and still being collected in some instances) amounted to well over $100,000.

Recently, some folks have expressed some confusion over why this family was singled out and received such a huge outpouring of community support.  Now, as a friend of the family and former law enforcement officer, I have my own strongly held personal opinions about why the Widman family should be blessed in this way (not to mention Andy took the job to raise money so he and Susanna could go overseas as missionaries), but the detractors raise an interesting point – one they seem willing to back up.  And in that I support them.  They rightly ask, “Where is all of the money for other widows, where is the community support,”  and they are making a lot of noise about starting a fund for those other widows, to which I respond, ABSOLUTELY.  And while you’re at it, let’s take care of the orphans as well.  I’m pretty sure that’s in the Bible…

Dueteronomy 10:17-18 “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.”

In fact, the book of Deuteronomy is replete with admonitions to leave behind a portion of your crops, for the fatherless and the widowed.  Twice in that book alone, the writer mentions that you should, “bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”

You may recall my article last year, “Why Social Security, Welfare & Medicare Don’t Work – And Never Will,” where I talked about how the church and its people have abdicated their responsibility to care for the least of these to various government programs.  While the almost universal response I got from the people who read the article can be summed up in, “Well, that’s a nice thought, but it’ll never work,” its nice to see that some others – even those without a faith foundation to fall back on – are embracing the same principles.  Now why can’t we get the church involved?

Maybe that’s just too much Jesus for them.  Maybe we should review the words of the great reformer, Martin Luther:

“There is no true, basic difference between laymen and priests, princes and bishops, between religious and secular, except for the sake of office and work, but not for the sake of status. They are all of the spiritual estate, all are truly priests, bishops, and popes. But they do not all have the same work to do.” – Martin Luther, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation (1520)

Now get out there and change the world.

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Why Social Security, Welfare & Medicare Don’t Work – And Never Will

I know just the title of this article alone will get people’s attention and create controversy.  And while controversy is not my goal, I am not adverse to using preexisting biases and controversies to raise awareness of a social issue that needs to be addressed – by the appropriate people.

Now, just to make things clear, I am a Christian and come with certain biases of my own.  However, there are some things you should not assume about my faith.  First off, while my politics tend to lean more towards the conservative side, I am not one of those who believes that Jesus is a Republican or that the Grand Old Party has some exclusive license to people of faith.  In fact, by the time you finish this article, you will understand that in issues like these, I tend to side with the Democrat’s stance, at least in principle.  But the biggest mistake you can make when reading this is to continue to believe that what I am going to discuss is a purely political issue.  Neither party gets it completely right, nor do I expect that they should, because this is not a political issue, but, in reality, a bit of God’s judgment on the church for their lack of obedience.

Let me explain.

Government programs and institutions can never properly replace what God has assigned as the work of people – people in the church.

I’m going to make a bold statement here that is probably going to upset quite a few people.  Every societal and social ill that has befallen us here in the United States is due to the failure of the church to do what we are assigned to do.  Sorry if that offends anyone, but the truth does that sometimes.

Did you know that, if every church in America, regardless of its size, were to adopt just 4 homeless families, homelessness would be wiped out across the country?

Did you know that if we harvested all of the food that is grown by our nations farmers that is “not perfect enough” to be sent to the national grocery store chains, that we would have enough food to feed every hungry person in America 3 times over?  Thank God for the St. Andrew’s Society here in my area that is working with churches and farmers to do just that.  This summer alone, we have helped harvest almost 10,000 pounds of squash, zucchini and eggplant that was donated to a couple of local food banks.

Yesterday, driving home from church, God gave me a vision for my future.  A vision where it becomes possible to help the family of Christ avoid bankruptcy and foreclosure by having sufficient funds to assist them in paying their debts.  Rather than being locked into 30, 40, 50 or even 60-year rental contract with the bank (let’s face it, until you’ve got the deed, the house ain’t really yours), and facing a credit and emotionally scarring path through bankruptcy and foreclosure, a company of Christians steps up, and working through their local church, purchases the note for their house from the bank and, working with them, teaching them Biblical concepts on finance and budgeting and keeping them accountable – makes it possible for them to work in a  Biblical model – as an indentured servant, as it were, and pay off their house and other debts in just seven years.

Imagine an America, populated by hundreds of homeowners, not disguised renters, but folks who own their homes, free and clear.  People who can now help their brothers, here and overseas, to better their lives and spread the Gospel.  Imagine a church that has wiped out homelessness, poverty and need.  A church that  has real influence in the world.  And what’s even more remarkable… if done properly, it could be done in just 10-15 years!  In less than a generation, we could turn the tide of economic hardship in America.  The people of God could take dominion over the world, taking back and reinforcing the assignment given to Adam thousands of years ago. 

What a witness THAT would be. 

A church – the people of God who could then turn their attention and their influence to other matters in this world.  Like teaching kids to value human life.  One by presenting, in an accurate and non-judgmental matter, two theories of how the world came to be, side by side in the classroom, showing how science and religion don’t have to contradict each other or start wars.  By showing that life is sacred and shouldn’t be snuffed out when it is inconvenient, through abortion or euthanasia.  A people of God who could care for their aging parents – eliminating the need for long-term care insurance, because the family cares for them again.  A society where one income (or two part-time incomes) is sufficient to provide for the family, leaving the ability for the mothers and fathers to be involved in their children’s lives and their parents lives, reinforcing the family unit that so many in the church feel is threatened, while they work, sometimes even doing “God’s work,” for 60-80 hours a week.  Influencing the world by fixing our schools and getting involved in all our children’s education. 

I’m going to slaughter another sacred cow here, so bear with me.  I really think the homeschoolers have missed their calling.  Please bear with me while I explain.  I support and admire parents who want to get involved and teach their kids from home so that they can avoid the dangers of public schools.  BUT, I think they waited far too long.  Now, many struggle with making ends meet and juggling schedules to make things work.  Again, I think they waited too long.  True Christians should be concerned not only with what our own kids are taught, but truly about what all kids are taught and the environment in the schools.  Sadly the homeschool movement is now necessary in part because most parents didn’t have the time to get involved and make a difference in their kids schools and the school’s governing body when they could have affected change for the entire district – rather than just pull their kids out of the broken down system that is our public schools.  With enough money and influence – that could be changed and rather than seeking vouchers for kids whose parents cannot afford private school or struggling to make things work to teach them from home, we could fix the public school system and make it something to be proud of once again.

Imagine a movement of God’s people that could reach beyond the boundaries of their individual buildings and members and affect true change and influence in our world.  A world where corporal punishment is no longer forbidden – as long as it is done in love, not anger or hatred.  A world where we could teach our kids about abstinence and it would actually make sense to them, because they’d see the value in marriage, children, and waiting, rather than the subconscious understanding that they have now that more kids equals a larger welfare check.  A world where we could teach our children about using the proper protection without worrying that they’ll need to use it, because they understand the value of waiting until they are married.

Imagine a government that is led by believers because they wield the most influence across the board.  A government which could lower the taxes on its people because there is no longer a need for a welfare system, a vast social security administration, a Medicare and Medicaid program, because the people of God have stepped up to the plate and offered their vast resources to handle all these problems, many of which are easily eliminated under the covenantal  economic system, rather than the earth cursed system we struggle under now.  A government led, not by Republicans or Democrats, but by Christians, regardless of where their party affiliation lies.

Imagine people seeing the value of believing in Christ, because He truly does supply ALL of our needs.  Rather than a church that is constantly at war with its own body, while telling the outside world that it is going to hell in a handbasket, it is a church that is united in serving the world, bringing everyone the good news of Christ while meeting their natural needs.  Imagine the kingdom of Heaven, being established here on earth.  And all it takes, is the church stepping up and taking responsibility for doing what God has called His people to do.

I almost ended this post with one word – Imagine.  But the fact is, we need to stop imagining and start doing something about it.  The world I’ve described can truly be enacted within just a few short years, but the longer we wait, the harder it will be.  What’s more, we need to act now, because now that it’s out there – the devil can come in and twist things, moving us from our mission, using our own doubts and fears against us.  The harvest is ready but the workers are few. 

Dennis Peacocke taught a large group of people ten years ago that the church needed to step up and work with business people, but only a few heard and implemented his mission.  Justin DeStoppelaire and David G. Johnson have started a ministry that teaches people how to do business through the Holy Spirit’s leading in the Prophetic Marketplace.  Michael Q. Pink has scoured the word of God to understand and explain Biblical principles that will help build success in sales and business, without resorting to the formulas and tactics of the world.  Pastor Gary Keesee has worked with his church and now has launched an international ministry to teach people Kingdom Economics, while operating a business for the last 25 years that helps people get out of debt, regardless of their faith-stance, in 7-10 years, house and all. 

The resources are out there and there is a move in the body of Christ, but we need so many more workers.  People willing to dig deep into God’s word.  People willing to step up, take personal responsibility, and make a difference in their world.  People willing to be the true body of Christ.  Are you one of those people?  Please comment below if you are, so we can pray for you.  But even more, do what you can to start living out your faith in your finances and in your careers and businesses.  Let’s show the world that Christ isn’t silent – He’s speaking through His people.

gary-keesee

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What Controversy? Tithing vs Offerings

Since I started doing this teaching blog a little while ago, I have gotten a variety of responses from the readers, some as comments, some as personal e-mails, both positive and negative in their feedback.  One subject that seems to spur more controversy and general angst than any other is the subject of tithing.

There are two basic points of view about tithing in churches, and I never realized the huge gulf between the two concepts – in part, because there isn’t one, just a manufactured controversy that results from too many assumptions about the other party, and secondly because of the high emotional context that many non-tithing (often also known as free-will offering) teachers operate from.

It’ll probably be easier to understand if I give you some examples.  Most of the arguments people have given me consist of a few similarities.  I’ll summarize.

The first is, “Christ established a new covenant with his followers, especially the gentiles, and we should no longer serve the old Jewish/Old Testament edicts.”

The second is, “Churches and pastors have browbeat people into giving.  The teaching on tithing has been abused to build up some church leader’s egos and for building projects and to take advantage of the poor who have less than the rich.”  This one’s usually preceded by the phrase, “I’m mad.”

Often times, these arguments are bolstered and exacerbated by the many assumptions that are prevalent in the arguments.

Tithing teachers and followers often assume that their free-will offering counterparts are using their beliefs as a crutch to give less or not at all, because they haven’t felt the Spirit move them.

Free-Will Offering teachers and followers assume that their tithing friends are legalistic, mean and teach that God doesn’t bless those who don’t give 10%.  They also assume that many tithers use the 10% as a crutch to only give the barest minimum of what they have been blessed with, and feeling smug and secure.

There are a variety of other less-prevalent arguments and assumptions, but the ones I have presented here cover a majority of what I’ve heard.  One notable exception was a gentleman who explained to me in depth why tithing was a remnant of the Mosaic law and that we are under a new covenant and not Jews and should not be bound by the Mosaic laws, then proceeded to tell me that he believed that his stance on Free-Will Offering was established in the book of Deuteronomy (I’ll pause and let the irony sink in).

I said that the controversy was manufactured and I want to explain that, because I don’t want to leave any misunderstandings out there.  I also don’t want anyone to think that I am stating that one group or another manufactured the controversy.  That is not true.  Unfortunately, there is another presence in our world that likes to create things, especially things that mock the true creation, and I believe he is the source of this manufactured controversy.

In First Timothy 2:14-17, Paul explains this: “…Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.  Their teaching will spread like gangrene.”

I believe this is what has happened here – Satan has gotten in and subtly manipulated us, using some pastor’s all-too human failings, pride and greed, to establish a controversy and an argument between two viable bodies of Christ for no apparent reason other than the controversy itself.

Now follow me here, because this is the question I have for my free-will offering friends who don’t believe in the tithe.  First, “Why not?”  But before you answer that question, let me offer my proposal for how we can resolve all of the conflict and come into a unity with regards to expressing our stewardship by giving to the Lord. 

You see, once I understood the basic principles of Spirit-led free-will offering, the answer became obvious to me. 

First, we do not deny the tithe – it is a Biblically-expressed spiritual principle, tied to God’s spiritual laws.  However, the tithe is just a starting point.  As we mature and grow in our understanding and knowledge of Jesus Christ and how His kingdom economics work, we follow the Spirit’s leading (which we can hear and discern better now) and increase our giving, our free-will offering, as we are led.

Think of the tithe as the spiritual milk that babies eat and the free-will offering as the spiritual meat that adults transition to.  The two don’t have to be at odds with one another – it makes sense, spiritually, that they should compliment each other.  We are blessed by God, in part, due to the way we handle money, and giving new Christians a standard to judge themselves by only makes sense.

Through all of my praying and preparing for writing this, I have sought God’s wisdom in this matter, and through His divine intelligence, He has given me a phrase that I think just might revolutionize the way tithing is taught and understood by most of the church.

The phrase is this: “Tithing is not legalistic, it is opportunistic.”

Now, I’m not going to argue with the people who take offense that a spiritual concept might be ‘opportunistic.’  God is a God of opportunity – after all, it is He who gives us the ability to create wealth, so why would He then deny us that opportunity.  If you don’t agree, then you might as well head over to ChristaNet or Yahoo or whatever, cause this won’t make sense to you.

Instead, I’m going to explain why the tithe is opportunistic.

You see, I believe that there are three levels of blessing that God engages in.  The first is general blessing.  We all get the benefits of that, by the very fact that we live on the earth He created.  Jesus explains that in Matthew 5: “your Father in heaven… causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

The second blessing is a believer’s blessing, which is similar to the blessing the Jewish people still hold.  Paul explains in Galatians 3:

“Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case.  The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.  What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.  For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.

What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator.  A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.

Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.  But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.  So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.  Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Paul even points out earlier in the chapter, that those who rely on observing the law are cursed.  I repeat that the Biblical tithe is not legalistic – otherwise, it would go against God’s promises.

Finally, the third blessing that God bestows is the blessing of obedience.  You see, we’re given free will.  Anyone can do anything he likes or doesn’t like.  God does not make a distinction.  Further, we can follow or turn away and we can be obedient or disobedient to God.  However, I don’t believe that God punishes us for that – not in the way that the world thinks, anyway.  God is not sitting up in heaven with a giant SMITE button on His captain’s chair, waiting for us to screw up so that He can take away our blessings.  No, the beauty of it is, being our Creator, He understands how we work, and knows that the consequences of our actions or inactions will be sufficient in most cases.  This is especially true of those who have believed in Jesus Christ, crucified, risen and ruling still.  But by that same token, those of us who are saved by faith, should also respond to that gift with love and obedience.  In fact, we have a higher responsibility, by nature of the gift we have been given.  Again, we could chose to ignore that responsibility and devalue that gift, but where would that leave us?

You see, the tithe is not legalistic – and God does not punish or penalize us for not following the tithe.  At the same time, He does not withhold His blessings from us, if we don’t tithe – and this is the most important thing – WE withhold those blessings from ourselves!

God is standing there, willing, able and longing, YES, LONGING, to bless us with more financial wealth, more relationship wealth and more spiritual wealth and power, but He chooses to follow the rules He himself has set up, because He knows His creation.

Luke 16: 9-11 – “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.  So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?”

I Peter 1: 14-15 – “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;”

Why does God long to bless us financially, spiritually and relationally?  Because His desire is that we bring about a change in our world – a movement that glorifies Him and draws many many more to His promises and truth of the Gospel.

Just one more thing I’d like to point out, for the people who still object to my teaching on tithes.  I am not a pastor (in the traditional sense), nor do I represent a church.  I am a member of a church, and I have been a member of other churches.  At no point have I ever taught the tithe to raise money for myself or any church or ministry.  I teach the tithe, because I believe it is truly the way God wants us to behave, augmented by free-will offerings when the Spirit moves you.  No one should give out of obligation or fear and no one should ignore Biblical teaching because of someone else’s propensity for using the Word of God to elicit guilt or fear.  Sorry, that’s just the way it is.

As for this ministry/website/blog – everything here is paid for out of my own pocket.  When I do seminars, whether for churches or other organizations, I do not ask for any money.  I have been given money in the past, but not as a result of my request.  I don’t even have a button on here to support me voluntarily through PayPal or anything like that.  That said, I have posted a couple of flyers on the site that you can download to share with friends who are seeking Biblical teaching on finances. 

Dennis Peacocke, author of Doing Business God’s Way, points out that Paul often writes that we are given the resources necessary to fulfill our God-given calling.  In I Thessalonians 1:11-12, he writes, “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.  We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 9 expresses it this way:

“God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it,
   He throws caution to the winds,
      giving to the needy in reckless abandon.
   His right-living, right-giving ways
      never run out, never wear out.
This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.

Carrying out this social relief work involves far more than helping meet the bare needs of poor Christians. It also produces abundant and bountiful thanksgivings to God. This relief offering is a prod to live at your very best, showing your gratitude to God by being openly obedient to the plain meaning of the Message of Christ. You show your gratitude through your generous offerings to your needy brothers and sisters, and really toward everyone. Meanwhile, moved by the extravagance of God in your lives, they’ll respond by praying for you in passionate intercession for whatever you need. Thank God for this gift, his gift. No language can praise it enough!”

(The Message)

May God bless you as you prayerfully consider the words I have written here.  And may you find the level of giving you are able to handle and allow God to grow you spiritually, financially and relationally into His perfect creation.

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A Fresh Look at Tithing

A few weeks ago, the articles here caught the attention of a gentleman who was struggling with what the church, historically has taught about tithing and he made several comments, which I used to establish a dialogue with him.  You can read the comments here. 

While I appreciated what he had to say, one of the things we continued to disagree on was whether or not the tithe was still applicable today as it was in Old Testament Biblical times.  One of the resources I did not have at the time, but have recently located, was this 4-part series by Australian minister Clive Pick on Kingdom Economics.

In the sermon reprint, I read the words that I wish I had been able to deliver to Mr. Lindsay, but had trouble expressing properly:

You don’t give the tithe you don’t sow the tithe, and the tithe is not an offering. The tithe is something you return. If you don’t return it, you are withholding it. Now that is the key the church needs to turn, because the tithe is the key to the release – not only of finances for the body of Christ, but also of the authority of the body of Christ.

You see, the tithe is not something we give back to God.  God has given us every good gift, including the means to earn a living and create sufficiency and even prosperity for ourselves.  For years, we’ve all been taught in churches that we give back to God in response to that gift.  But that teaching is slightly skewed, because it’s not ours to give.  In Malachi, God calls His people thieves when they do not “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse…”

But the fact is, the charge is much stronger.  God says that we are stealing because we are keeping what was never ours – withholding the tithe instead of releasing it.  Rather than being good stewards, we’re pilfering from our Lord and Redeemer – essentially biting the hand that feeds us, and then wondering why His blessings aren’t flowing down from on high onto us. 

In his recent book, Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To, Anthony DeStefano points out that there is something very significant about the way God addresses giving in Malachi 3.  In every other situation in the Bible, when God interacts with His people, we are warned not to test God. 

Exodus 17 – “Why do you put the LORD to the test?”

Numbers 14 – “not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times- not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.”

Deuteronomy 6 – “Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah.”

Psalm 78 – “But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep his statutes. Like their fathers they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow. They angered him with their high places; they aroused his jealousy with their idols.When God heard them, He was very angry; He rejected Israel completely.”

Psalm 95 – “…do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did.  For forty years I was angry with that generation;  I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’  So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

Isaiah 7 – “Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.’”

Matthew 4 – “Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’”

Luke 4 – “Jesus answered, ‘It says: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’”

Acts 5 – “Peter said to her, ‘How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.’  At that moment she fell down at his feet and died.  Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.”

Acts 15 – “Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?”

I Corinthians 10 – “We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes.”

Hebrews 3 – “So, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did.  That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, “Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.”  So I declared on oath in my anger, “They shall never enter my rest.”’”

But the terms are radically reversed in Malachi 3:8-12, where God actually challenges us to “’Test me in this… and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,’ says the LORD Almighty.”

If God chose this one area to allow His people to test Him, does that not place an even higher amount of importance on tithing?  Yet so many people choose to ignore the teachings, dispute their validity and argue that since some pastors in the church abused their authority in respect to the tithe, then we should ignore this particular spiritual discipline.  That makes about as much sense as saying that we should ignore the teachings on adultery and fornication because some pastors and priests twisted them to serve their own aberrant and perverted desires.

We see a lot of people out there who claim that God has called them into ministry, yet they live in poverty.  Now, I’m not saying that they’re living below their means or getting by with less – we could all bear to do some of that.  I am talking about people who, in the course of their ministry, significantly struggle financially day to day, living offering to offering, leaving bills unpaid or relying on government subsidies to make ends meet.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the problem is two-fold.  First, the people of God should be giving more to all ministries.  In fact, as I’ve mentioned before, if the church members actually tithed, we would have more money than we could spend.  But, a little more controversially, if God is not meeting your needs, then perhaps you need to reevaluate your “call” to ministry. 

Bear with me while I explain.  It is a fact that God pays for what He orders.  And I’m not talking about having a few weeks or even months shy of the full amount necessary.  That, in fact, may be God testing your faith and building your financial spiritual maturity – stripping away those things that really don’t matter so you can clearly see what does.  But, if you are consistently, month in and month out, year after year unable to pay your bills, feed your family and maintain your home, I think you might have misunderstood what God was saying to you, because He would never speak a word that is in conflict with His written word.  That is why we are told in I John to test the spirits and in 2 Corinthians to test ourselves.

One other thing I’d like to point out about giving and receiving, sowing and reaping.  In Acts 5, we see the story of Ananias and Sapphira.  I’ve even quoted a portion of it above, but let me bring the whole passage out right now:

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.  With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.   Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?  Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”

When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.  Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.  Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”
      “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”

Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.  Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

I want to discuss this passage for a moment, because so much has been written about the New Testament vision for tithing, based on this incident in the early church.

 Reformed theologian John Calvin points out that when Malachi is addressing the house of Israel, the reason he employs the phrase, “bring the whole tithe into the storehouse” is because the Jews were bringing as little as they could get away with in – most of the time only half of the tithe – but at the same time, pretending that they were serving God by bringing anything at all, and those who gave half were elevating themselves to positions of high honor because they were giving the most.  In Calvin’s language, they were trifling with God, performing their “duties” in such a way that the others would not see their perfidy.  Perfidy is the act of violating faith or allegiance; violation of a promise or vow; faithlessness; treachery.  So what Calvin is saying is that the children of Israel were stealing from God by not returning the first fruits portion of their blessings to Him and they were making it worse by lying about it – trying to make themselves appear more holy, and in the process mocking God.

Sound familiar?  Why are Ananias and Sapphira struck down?  It’s not because they kept part of the money for themselves.  Peter makes it clear that they were entitled to the money – even all of the money, if they’d so chosen.  The reason they are struck dead and made an example of is because they deliberately lied to the Apostles and to God by claiming they were bringing the entire amount for God’s use when in fact they had kept a portion for themselves.  And Sapphira compounds their sin by outright lying to Peter when asked directly if the money they brought was the full amount.  Again, it’s not that they didn’t being the full amount, its that they lied about it to make themselves seem more holy.

John Calvin’s words echo from when he wrote them in the Middle Ages and still ring true today: “…it is no new or unusual thing for men to pretend to do the duties they owe to God, and at the same time to take away from him what is his own, and to transfer it to themselves, and that manifestly, so that their impiety is evident, though it be covered by the veil of dissimulation (hiding the truth).” Calvin goes on to note that God offers the challenge to test himself to dispel the malicious and slanderous things some of the Israelites were saying about God – claiming God was not consistent, because He had, by His own spiritual law, withheld His blessings from the people.

But God’s words are not just for the Israelites in Malachi’s time, or for the disciples and apostles of the early church.  Are you suffering because you feel God’s blessings have been withheld from you?  While there could be many reasons why God is withholding His blessing, the most prevalent and powerful in our world today is due to people’s hearts being hardened against giving God the first fruits.  Or to use the more appropriate language, by being greedy or overly concerned with money – FOR WHATEVER REASON – they are either unwilling or afraid to release back to God some of His blessings; withholding the appropriate response of money, time or talent – and keeping themselves from receiving the greater blessings God wishes to bestow upon them.

Calvin goes on to point out that our disobedience hurts everything. It hurts God by breaking our relationship with Him. It hurts us by keeping us from God’s blessings and breaking His relationship with us. And it hurts even the earth itself, which yearns, as Paul writes, for the release of what they were created to be – a source of blessing for God’s people.  

There is a lot of talk right now about The Secret – the “Law of Attraction,” that draws all good things to the people who can direct the universe’s formless stuff with their mental powers.  The true secret is that God has created the earth to serve us, but when sin broke the world, the rules changed.  The creation still wants to serve God’s children, but we must be obedient to God’s spiritual laws to allow even the very earth to share its wealth with us.

Calvin even suggests that when God tells Malachi that he will “open the floodgates of heaven,” or “open you the windows of heaven” (KJV) and pour out a blessing – He is talking about supplying the rain that allows crops to grow – then preventing the pests/devourers and preserving the fruit on the vine until it can be picked.

Interestingly enough, at the end of the chapter, God explains what will happen when His people return to obeying His laws: “They will be mine,” says the LORD Almighty, “in the day when I make up my treasured possession.  I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.” (emphasis mine)

Test God. I’m seriously asking. Until we see that the tithe, as well as God’s other financial principles and spiritual laws lead to a much more prosperous and happy life than anything we can create under our own power, we will never witness the true power of God. And many more souls will be lost, because we refused to obey God’s laws and supply a conduit for His blessings and salvation for ALL people. Don’t you owe it to your family and friends to try? I guarantee you, God will answer.

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One Man’s Testimony

Pastor Gary Keesee talks to Sid Roth about his struggle with debt and how he came to apply Kingdom Economics to his family life, resolving their financial struggles and leading to a ministry that now helps other families do the same.

Okay, apparently I can’t get the video to embed, so here’s a link on Google Videos.

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A LOST Financial Truth

In last week’s episode of LOST on ABC, the requisite flashback story was in the life of stranded Desmond.  We learned early on that Desmond was a novice, studying to become a monk.  At one point, after a very troubling week, the abbot discovers Desmond imbibing in the wine that the monks press to pay for their order’s livelihood.

“What are you doing, Brother?”

“Getting pissed (wasted) on our wine”

“Each bottle of that wine goes for a 100 Quid” ($200 US)

“Well, it’s good thing we took a vow of poverty, then.”

“Yes, but we also took a vow of charity…”

Are you one of the many who was taught in church that money is evil?  That rich people won’t make it into heaven?  That you cannot serve God and money?

I want to focus on that last statement.  According to both Matthew 6 and Luke 16, Jesus does say, this:

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Mammon.” 

Interestingly enough, in Matthew, the verse follows Jesus talking about not storing up for yourself treasures on earth, and follows it with the admonition not to worry about food, drink, and clothing.  In Luke, however, the verse follows the parable of the shrewd manager and followed by the parable of Lazarus & the rich man.

I could just focus on the Luke passage, because it helps me make my point easier, but both passages are Scripture and should be able to be reconciled, or I must be laboring under a misunderstanding of what Christ was teaching.

You see, Jesus never taught that rich people wouldn’t go to heaven.  Instead, he expressed that they must have a stronger faith commitment than the poor, because they are more self-sufficient.  And I’ve already explained that Paul writes to Timothy that the LOVE of money is the ROOT of all kinds of evil, not that money, in itself is evil.

What I think many Christians teach on, when they teach that you cannot serve two masters, is that we should flee from money and building riches because they will lead down a path of temptation that we will struggle with.  To be perfectly honest, this is balderdash.  If that was the case, then why did God create women to be desirable to men?  Whether you believe it or not, the more you are blessed with, the more you will struggle with temptation.  The struggle is proof that you are following in God’s will and growing in your faith.  If it wasn’t a struggle or you didn’t feel temptation, either you’ve built up a huge resistance to God’s discipline (Check out Paul’s discussion of this in Galatians 6), or He just doesn’t feel you’ve matured enough to handle such a temptation.  And are we not told to seek higher things?

When Jesus said that we cannot serve God and money, do you think He didn’t realize that we would still struggle with it today?  Do you think that just because He spoke the words in 1^st century Jerusalem that He was unaware that we would struggle with finances in 21^st century America?  What if His admonition, “Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other,” could just as easily be applied to credit card debt?  If you owe Chase or Capitol One a few thousand dollars, are you not serving them?  You can tell me all you want that you hate credit card debt and you love Christ, but who are you truly devoted to when you pay Citibank $1000 a month and only have a few twenties to throw into the offering plate at the end of the month?

Why do you think that Luke records Jesus’ parable of the shrewd manager, completing the story with, “use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings”?  That doesn’t sound like what they told me in church.

To discover the truth behind Jesus’ controversial statement, we must read further, when he explains the point of the story, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.  So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?  And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” 

Remember, we’re talking about Stewardship here.  The master in the story is upset with his manager because he, “was accused of wasting his (the Master’s) possessions.”  Hmm.  “If you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”  I challenge you to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if you’ve been trustworthy with all of the gifts God has given you – physical, mental and financial.

Then, to cap the moment off, Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.  Lazarus is the beggar outside of the rich man’s door who is ignored by the rich man, until the two of them die and the rich man ends up in hell.  I’d like to point out that neither Jesus nor Luke implies that the rich man is in hell because he’s rich, just because that’s where he went.  In fact, it almost seems like a karmic situation: “remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony,” but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the point, either.  Of course, your pastor will tell you that the main point of the story is that Jesus was predicting his own death and the fact that some would still not be convinced, and he or she is absolutely right, but these parables are obviously arranged in such a way for a reason as well.

 

Now, as for chapter 6 of Matthew; the passage that appears to not be helping me any in making my point…

 

Matthew 6 begins with the admonition to not display and announce your acts of righteousness before men, to gain honor and admiration, but do them in secret.  Notice that it does not say not to do them, just to not make yourself out to be a great person as a result.  Which might be why most rich people who are generous with their money are never perceived to be rich.  They give more than most in the church, but they do it under the radar, not seeking acclaim from men.

 

Then about halfway through the chapter, Jesus tells us not to, “store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  We would be foolish not to realize that this ties back in with the beginning of the chapter.

 

Jesus follows by saying, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

 

The NIV translation leaves a little to be desired here, so I’ll turn to the commentators at InterVarsity Press to explain:

 

“In the Greek text of the Gospels, Jesus literally calls the eye a “single” eye, which is a wordplay: the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible also uses this word for “single” to translate the Hebrew term for “perfect”-thus “single-minded” devotion to God, with one’s heart set on God alone. An “evil eye,” conversely, was a stingy, jealous or greedy eye; yet it also signifies here a bad eye, one that cannot see properly.”

 

How great is the darkness within a man who is not generous, for “no one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”  And again, we are brought full circle, showing that it is not the quantity of the resources (or money) that is the problem, but the nature and expression of the person with the resources.  Stingy comes at all income levels.  In fact, many who are less well off are more inclined to be stingy, as they fall prey to the fear that there will not be enough.

 

And what does Jesus address next?  That very same fear.  When put into the light of context, could Jesus perhaps be teaching us to focus on the giver of all good gifts and not who gets how much of what?  Who worries more about whether or not they will have food and clothing, the well-off or the less than wealthy.  Of course, there are exceptions to every rule.  There are many who are rich that have come upon their success by hoarding and greed and they fear the same things.  And I have some close friends who live on very little, but are extremely happy and have the ability to donate time, talent, and treasury to various ministries.

 

The issue, again, is not that possessions themselves are bad but that a higher priority holds dominion over our resources. If we value what our Lord values rather than what the TV or other societal forces dictate, we will find freedom regardless of our income stream.  After all, God does want us to have enough to be content, but also to have an abundance so that we may fulfill the vow of charity that we accepted when we took upon ourselves His grace, regardless of what robes (or denim) we wear.  In meeting the needs of others, we become most Christ-like, no matter how much our bank account holds.

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