Tithing Means 10% & It’s A Command From God. Deal With It.

Sorry to be blunt like that… but we all need to suck it up & deal with the fact that we OWE God 10% of what we earn. Simple as that. So stop crying about it & trying to make excuses for why you don’t have to!

I know I am going to be disliked for this one… but this will be on tithing. Not too many can agree on this doctrine. Mostly because it hits our precious pocket book. And we don’t like being told what to do with our money. Only problem with that? It’s not OUR money. It’s His. He gives it to us. No scripture even mentions a substitute program for tithing in the New Testament.

There is a difference between tithing and offering. Tithing is a command. Offering is just that. Offering. Tithing is a tenth. A tenth off of the top of your profit. Whether it be your paycheck or your crops ‘back in the day’. A tenth of your earnings should go to God before it is touched for ANYTHING else. Before your mortgage, car payment, groceries.

I heard someone say once, If you want to know what is most important to someone… look in their check book. On the day of payday when that money is deposited… what is the very first thing money is withdrawn for?

Is it God?

It should be. Here is why. First of all, it is commanded by God. Secondly, the true Word needs to be spread.

Mark 16:15 (King James Version)

¹⁵And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

How are we to make sure the true Word of God gets spread if we don’t support the church?

Tithes. Used 23 times in the bible.

Tithe. Used 14 times in the bible.

Tithing. Used 2 times in the bible.

Tithe  means tenth.

It’s really very simple. This does not mean a tenth of your time. This is a tenth of your earnings. Look at all the biblical examples. These people gave what they earned! Not just some ‘community service’ as they chose. That doesn’t mean painting the church in your spare time, or preparing meals for the sick or homeless or donating your baked goods for the church bake sale, or helping the youth on your free day.  All of those things are wonderful, but it all is considered offerings… not tithing!

The very first mention of tithing was in Gen. 14:20, Gen. 28:22 and again in Heb. 7:1-11. This practice was 430 years BEFORE the Law  of Moses!  So we will see, that the doctrine of tithing was practiced before the Law of Moses (Old Testament), Under the Law  of  Moses, and also in the New Testament (after the Law was finished). In the New Testament, Christ taught it & Paul taught it. It was commanded in both Old & New Testaments.

Tithing Under The Law Of Moses:

First of all it was commanded in Lev. 27:30 & Mal. 3:10.

Five Purposes for tithing:

• For  the Levites Num. 18:21-24  {“This is their payment for the work they do serving”}
• Tithes of the tithes every 3 yrs for the poor and the ministers Dt. 14:27-29, 26:12-14
• To  supply God’s house Mal. 3:10
• To honor God Prov. 3:9-10

When were tithes to be brought? Yearly, along with all other offerings for the feast Dt. 12:6-7, 14:22-26

These tithes belonged to God, not the people who paid them Lev. 27:30-34, Mal. 3:8

Where tithes were brought: 2nd Chr. 31:12, Neh. 10:38, 12:44, 13:5 & 12

If someone borrowed  then 20% interest had to be added when it was paid back Lev. 27:31

Tithing in the New Testament:

Christ taught it: (Mt. 23:23 <--- command, Lk. 11:42), Lk. 18:11-12,

Matthew 10:10 (New Century Version)

¹⁰ Don't carry a bag or extra clothes or sandals or a walking stick. Workers should be given what they need.

Luke 10:7-8 (New Century Version)

⁷ Stay in the same house, eating and drinking what the people there give you. A worker should be given his pay. Don't move from house to house. ⁸ If you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat what they give you.

Paul taught it:

God ordained the support of ministers 1 Cor. 9:7-14

Melchisedec priesthood is eternal & must be supported Heb. 7:1-11

Here are some examples of those mentioned in scripture who paid tithes:

• Abraham (Gen. 14:20, Heb. 7:1-11)
• Jacob (Gen. 28:22)
• Levi in Abraham (Heb 7:9)
• Hezekiah and Israel (2 Chr. 31)
• Nehemiah and Israel (Neh. 13)
• Hypocrites (Mt. 23:23, Lk. 11:42; 18:12)
• Christians (1 Cor. 9:7-14; 16:2, 2 Cor. 7:11; 8:1-15, Gal. 6:6, 1 Tim. 5:17-18, Heb. 7)

Here are blessings mentioned for paying tithes:

• Blessings for obedience (Rom. 4:12, Heb. 7:6-10, 1 Cor. 9:7-14, 1 Tim. 6:17-18. Compare to Mal. 3:8-10, Pr. 3:9-10, Gen. 14:20, Dt. 8:10-20)
• God’s house will not want (Mal. 3:10)
• God’s ministers will not want (1 Cor. 9:7-14, 1 Tim. 5:17-18, Neh. 13:10)
• Material and spiritual blessings (Mal. 3:8-10, Pr. 3:9-10, 2 Chr. 31, Neh. 13)

Malachi 3:10-12 (New King James Version)

¹⁰ Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
      That there may be food in My house,
      And try 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 such blessing
      That there will not be room enough to receive it.
¹¹ “ And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
      So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
      Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
      Says the LORD of hosts;
¹² And all nations will call you blessed,
      For you will be a delightful land,”
      Says the LORD of hosts.

Tithes and offerings belong to God. To use them for personal gain is robbery of what belongs to God. Robbing God of tithes and offerings brings a curse. The purpose of tithes and offerings was to support the priesthood and the work of God in general. In vs.. 10, God challenges men to prove Him regarding the rewards of tithing.

We have all said, “I can’t afford to pay God the full 10% this week” because we have bills due. But someone once told me, “I can’t afford NOT to pay God this week”. Have you ever been faithful with your 10% for a long period of time… and then slacked off for a couple of weeks. ‘Jipped’ God out of His 10%? Then something unexpected came up? Like… your car broke down. Or something in the house went wrong? An extra bill came or you got a ticket? Remember that curse in vs.. 8 & 9? God WILL get His money one way or another.

And on the flip side – If you are faithful with your 10%… imagine the blessings!! God knows what we need. He knows if we are struggling with our bills. He also knows if we are struggling with the idea of paying Him or not paying Him.

If we are faithful in paying Him, then He will provide for us. He will take care of our needs. Don’t forget:

”If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
      And pour out for you such blessing
      That there will not be room enough to receive it.”

He is faithful to us.

Are we faithful to Him?

Eternity’s Past – Part 2

ETERNITY’S PAST – PART 2, LUCIFER’S TIME & FLOOD

I posted "Eternity's Past - Part 1" which was details about BEFORE Adam & Eve. Details about the 6 days of creation and before those 6 days…  Eternity!

Now I want to post about 2 more things:

Lucifer’s time period & the flood of his time, not Noah’s flood.

This info is just as interesting – if not MORE interesting – than the 6 days of creation.

Let’s get started!

LUCIFER

In Ez. 28:11-17, it describes Lucifer before he ‘fell’. He was the anointed cherub or protector of the earth and was full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, blameless in all his ways. He ruled the garden of Eden (before Adam). He was created by God and perfect in all his ways up to the time of his fall. These verses give the reason for his ‘fall’ and the result of his fall.

Isa. 14:12-14 states that Lucifer invaded heaven from earth hoping to defeat God and take His kingdom. But Lucifer himself was defeated and his kingdom cursed. Before his defeat he had a throne and therefore a kingdom and subjects to rule over. His kingdom was under the clouds, under the stars, and under heaven – on earth. He weakened the nations over whom he ruled, and he wanted to be like God and take His place in heaven, Lucifer led the invasion of heaven. All of this was before Adam’s day.

We have to acknowledge that Satan’s fall was before Adam’s time because he was already a fallen creature when he came into Adam’s Eden (Gen. 3, 2Cor. 11:3)

Jesus taught the fall of Satan from heaven in Luke 10:18. When did he fall? Before Adam’s time, because he was already a fallen creature when he came into Adam’s Eden. Why did he fall? Because of his pride and wanting to exalt his earthly kingdom above God’s. What was the result of his fall? All of Satan’s earthly subjects as well as over one third of God’s own angels fell with him (Rev. 12:3, 7-12) <---- The dragon is Satan. Then all nations were totally destroyed, along with vegetation, fish, fowls, and animals (2Pet. 3:5-7).

Jer. 4:23-26:

23I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void;
      And the heavens, they had no light.
²⁴ I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
      And all the hills moved back and forth.
²⁵ I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
      And all the birds of the heavens had fled.
²⁶ I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness,
      And all its cities were broken down
      At the presence of the LORD,
      By His fierce anger.

CONTRASTS BETWEEN LUCIFER’S FLOOD & NOAH’S FLOOD

Lucifer’s Flood	Noah’s Flood
Earth made waste	Not made waste
Earth made empty	Not made empty
Earth made totally dark	Not made totally dark
No light from heaven	Light from heaven
No days	Days
All vegetation destroyed	Vegetation left, not destroyed
No continual abating of waters off earth	Continual abating of waters off earth
Waters taken off in one day	Waters taken off in months
Supernatural work of taking waters off	Natural work of taking waters off the earth
God rebuked the waters	No rebuke of waters
Waters hastened away	Waters receded gradually
God set bounds for waters	Bounds already set
All fish destroyed because of sun with-held from earth	No fish destroyed, only land animals – sun not withheld
No fowls left	Fowls saved
No animals left	Animals saved
No  man left	4 men, 4 women saved
No social system left	A social system left
No ark made to save life	An ark made to save life
Cause: fall of Satan	Cause: man’s wickedness and sin of fallen angels
Result: became necessary to make new fish, fowl, land animals, vegetation, and man	Result: no new creations made for all things were saved

{Every single item in this list above has scripture to go along with it, but I didn’t feel like typing & linking it up. So if anyone wants any of those verses, let me know in the comment box below & I will add it}

The flood of Noah lasted over a year, and still vegetation was not destroyed. But in Lucifer’s flood the fruitful place became a wilderness Jer. 4:23-26. New vegetation had to be planted in the 6 days, for the earth was totally desolate (Gen. 1:11-12, 2:5, 8:17) This shows that Lucifer’s flood was on earth longer than Noah’s and, without a doubt, as judgment for a more serious rebellion – a complete rebellion of the “pre-Adamite” world.

{This has nothing to do with eternity’s past, but I’ll say it anyway…}

This is why the rainbow is so important! God put a rainbow in the sky as a promise to Noah to never destroy the earth again with water. The earth had already been destroyed TWICE by flooding! This rainbow was a promise made by God! How awesome is that?!?

Genesis 9:13
I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 9:14
Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds,

Genesis 9:16
Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."

Amazing!

All of this is amazing! Eternity is amazing! God is amazing!

So amazing we can’t even comprehend His power.

All of this & the world doesn’t see it. They want to make up reasons on how the earth was created.

This is all I have. It’s after midnight here. Maybe tomorrow I will do some editing or add some things. For now, I am beat!

Eternity’s Past – Part 1

Eternity, Before Adam and Eve – Part 1

I have a lot on my mind that I really want to get put down here. I am hoping I can keep some sort of structure here, but somehow I doubt that will happen. There is a chance I will be all over the place, because I am such a random person.

Even if I am all over the place, I hope this is interesting enough to hold your attention for a few minutes. To me, this is one of the most interesting topics to study! I can’t get enough of it.

So let’s get started!

Eternity = The Dateless Past

Eternity.

Before Adam & Eve.

Wow, imagine that! How much time was before Adam & Eve?

We can’t measure eternity, right? But what we do know are some details. So let’s discuss some details. Grab your bible & open to Genesis 1:1.

Genesis 1:1 - “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” This first verse refers to prior acts of God in some period of time in eternity’s past.  NOT the 6 days of creation. The following verses refer to the earth under the flood (Lucifer's Flood) and judgment (judgment being ‘without form, void, darkness’). Then after that the earth is restored to a second habitable state as before the curse of vs.. 2.

Job 38:4-7 makes it clear that the heavens were created first – how else could the stars have rejoiced when the earth was created? Another verse on this dateless past of eternity before the 6 days of creation - Proverbs 8:22-23.

Now here are some interesting facts: 2 very important words that make all the difference in the world!

Hebrew word “bara” = to CREATE (for the first time out of nothing) - to bring into being (Hebrews 11:3). This word is used 7 times in Genesis 1-2. All other places the words “made” and “make” are used, showing that God’s 6 days of work was reconstructive work.

• In Genesis 1:1 – the universe is brought into existence
• In Genesis 1:21 – sea creatures are created
• In Genesis 1:27 – man is created.

The word “bara” is used for the introduction of 3 great things:

• the world of matter
• natural life (all living creatures) 
• spiritual life represented by man

Hebrew word “asah” = made, make, to make out of already existing material. It is the opposite of “bara” (to create).

“Asah” occurs 2633 times in scripture and it is translated:

• “make” or “made” 653 times
• “do” 1333 times
• “wrought” 52 times
• “execute” 48 times
• “prepare” 37 times
• “work” 29 times
• and various other ways

So when scripture says “in six days the Lord made the heaven and earth” it is referring to their restoration after Lucifer’s flood (after the curse of Gen. 1:2) and not to their original creation in the beginning (eternity).

Now, another very important word!

“Let” is used 14 times in Genesis chpt. 1 and 1497 times in the rest of the bible.

This word is expressing “permission” and “purpose” in connection with already existing things. The light, firmament, waters, earth, darkness and all other things mentioned here were already in existence. The purpose of their existence had been annulled because of sin in Lucifer’s time. {Jer. 4:23-26, 2 Pet. 3:5-7} God simply commands these things to function properly again {as they did all through Lucifer’s time} according to their purpose. In the restoration to perfection, God merely speaks commands. He commands the sun to give light again {Gen. 1:3}. In Gen. 1:4, He commands the sun, moon and stars to divide the day and night forever {w/out a daily command}.

In the creation of beasts and man, their bodies were formed but their life was created. Man was a work of God, not of molecules and monkeys. Big difference in these two words!

Another couple of interesting facts:

In Gen. 1:28 God commanded Adam to “replenish” the earth. REplenish! Fill it AGAIN! This proves that the earth had been filled before this. God gave the same command to Noah after the second universal flood in Gen. 9:1.

In Genesis 1:2 – the word ‘was’ is from the verb ‘to become’, not the verb ‘to be’, which shows that the earth became waste & empty since it’s original creation in the beginning.

This sums up Part 1 of “Eternity – Before Adam and Eve”. This is the part about the creation. In Part 2 I want to discuss Lucifer’s flood in detail. Hopefully I can get this out tomorrow!

So please come back to read Part 2 :)

Ghosts!

Satan, Demons, ‘Ghosts’… OhMy!

Let’s talk about the spooky stuff! Why not?

Everyone falls into 3 categories on this topic: 1) Don’t believe at all & probably don’t want to hear about it, 2) Believe it but don’t know much… but have lot’s of their own theories, or 3) Believe it & know the truth. If you are in another category, sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you out.

{This topic is one of my pet peeves. It bothers me that there are so many that don’t know the truth about “ghosts”. People want to believe that these ‘ghosts’ are long lost loved ones that will watch over them like angels. Or they believe that their house is haunted by a ‘nice ghost’… so it’s ok. This drives me NUTS! The bible is very clear: When we take our last breath here on earth, we close our eyes & die & open our eyes in eternity. This is a fact. The bible is also very clear on the fact that once we wake up in eternity (whether heaven or hell) we STAY PUT & do NOT COME BACK for any reason! (Luke 16)  UNDERSTAND THIS PEOPLE!!! Ghosts are NOT dead people that come back to earth for any reason!!!}

Ready? Let’s get started!

The Greek words daimonion and daimon means “evil spirits” or “devils”. These words are used 77 times referring to demon spirits (‘ghosts’). There is also the Greek word diamonizomai which means “to have or be possessed by a demon”

The Greek word diabolos means “Satan” (The Devil), which means adversary, false accuser, slanderer. It is used 34 times regarding Satan.

There is a HUGE difference between these two different things: Satan & demon spirits. There is only one prince of devils but many demons.

Satan in an angel. He has an angelic body & can NOT enter bodily into anyone. Demons are DISembodied spirits & are not able to operate in the material world except through possession of the bodies of men & animals.

Other words used in the bible meaning “demon” (same Greek word, just different translation): familiar spirits, unclean spirits, evil spirits, seducing spirits.

Some general information about demons: They are subject to Christ and made subject to believers by the atonement, the name of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (Mt. 8:16-17; 12:28; Mk. 16:17; Lk. 10:17; Acts 19:15; 1Pet. 3:22) This means that IN THE NAME OF JESUS demons have to flee. Now don’t misunderstand – YOU MUST BE A CHRISTIAN in order to use the name of Jesus. The demons KNOW if you are saved or not!! {Acts 19:13-16  - ¹³Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." ¹⁴Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. ¹⁵(One day) the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" ¹⁶Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.} You don’t mess with demons unless you are covered in the blood of Christ because the demons KNOW who belongs to Him!

Here’s the kicker: Demons have been roaming this earth since BEFORE Adam & Eve! Yes, yes… Adam & Eve were NOT the first beings on the face of the earth. Before Adam & Eve there was a whole kingdom here on earth! Lucifer (aka Satan) was created by Christ along with other beings, principalities and powers in heaven and earth (Job 38:4-7; Ez. 28:11-17; Col. 1:15-18) Lucifer fell through pride over his own beauty (Ez. 28:11-17; 1Tim 3:6) and trying to exalt himself above God (Isa. 14:12-14). Anyway… Lucifer had a kingdom on earth long before the 6 days of Gen. (1:3-2:25) and the creation of Adam. These passages reveal that he fell, led an invasion into heaven and was defeated. At that time the earth was cursed and all life destroyed by the first flood, (as in Gen. 1:2… whole other story), NOT Noah’s flood. 

Soooo…. demons were roaming around before Adam & Eve between earth & hell… they know everything that has ever happened here on earth! They have seen every person who has ever lived. They have seen every person die.

Above I mentioned one of the names of demons is “familiar spirit”. This is what we call “ghosts”. We may see a ‘ghost’ that resembles our long lost great-grandpa that died in the attic. This ‘ghost’ looks like great-grandpa…it MUST be great-grandpa! NOT!! This is a “familiar spirit”!! These demons are so devious, they can make themselves look like any person who has ever been on this earth. People fall for this in other ways too. They see this ‘ghost’ that looks like some person who has lived back in the 1800’s or some other far away time period… and they look it up in history & find out this ‘ghost’ was a real person! Yes, demons CAN do this.

What WE need to do… is NOT BE IGNORANT to this! Don’t think these evil things are innocent ‘ghosts’ of dead nice people. The dead nice people are either in heaven or hell… and can NOT come back!!! Regardless if these things are scaring us or not – harming us or not – THESE THINGS ARE DEMON SPIRITS! No matter HOW you want to look at it – THEY ARE EVIL!! You do not want these things around! I think one reason for this is people want to hold on to some kind of hope that their loved one is coming back to visit or something. But this is impossible. It is impossible that our loved one comes back from eternity. This is the Word of God in scripture!

I really want people to understand how powerful the name of Jesus is. Demons know their destiny! In James 2:19 it says the demons know God and TREMBLE! They know that Christ has ALL POWER over them. They know their fate… that at the end of time they will be cast into hell for all eternity!

Demons also know who belongs to Christ. Us believers have the power over demons THROUGH CHRIST! Jesus gave us His permission to use His name to cast out demons, to heal the sick! 

Hollywood (and a lot of regular people) think you need to call in a priest or minister to pray over your haunted house or to do an exorcism… NOT TRUE! Jesus gave us His permission to use His name to do His work!! You just have to be a Christian. A believer. A born again, washed in the blood, child of God!

Luke 9

¹Then He called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

²And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are YOU a child of God? A believer? Are YOU washed in His blood?

You have to believe that Jesus is God’s only son who died on the cross for your sins… and He was raised from the dead on the 3rd day. (Romans 10:9)

If you believe this, then talk to God. Tell him you are sorry for your sins & you want to be saved. Tell Him you believe in His Son Jesus, that He died for your sins & you believe He has risen!

After you have done this…

YOU ARE SAVED!

You are a child of God!

You are washed in the blood of Christ!