(MN: At the further risk of smothering you in posts, I’m putting this up again. Dickkopf and a couple of others reminded me to remind you to help a brovvah out. Josh’s mom is doing well, but she still requires meds - very expensive meds.
As I say in the posting - if you give now, you recieve…nothing - a hundredfold. But if you give, you will be fulfilling the command to love our brothers…and sisters.
And Josh - my apologies for overlooking the re-post. )
Over and over again I rail against the folks who insist that you have to tithe - to them. I rail against the folks who have a vision - one that usually costs tens of millions of dollars to build. I warn you about the people who promise you your coming break through if you give them lots of money so they can continue to enjoy their break through right now.
I point out that giving is a matter of faith. It’s not simply another bill for us to keep track of. It’s not something you do to guarantee that God will bless you - as you count blessing. And it’s certainly not something you should do so that as you bless the Mand of Gawd, God can pour out blessings on you.
You should give where God moves on your heart to give. And you should give as much as God moves on your heart to give. And you should do so because you are acting in faith. Not faith that He will bless you if you give, but faith that you are doing what He would have you to do.
I am presenting an opportunity to give. You will receive no recognition for it. The people you give to will likely never meet you, and you will likely not have the satisfaction of seeing the benefits of your gifts unless the benefactor publicizes it. And even then, the results of the giving may not be what we want them to be.
If you give, it will only be because God has moved on your heart to do so. I won’t know it. The other readers of P-P.org won’t know it. But you may be able to turn it into a great lesson on giving for your children and maybe help pimp proof them.
Josh, a blogger, has some huge medical expenses as a part of his mother’s treatment of cancer. You can get some of the details here.
He has set up a PayPal account and has asked people to make donations for his mother’s medications and chemo treatments. I am presenting to you an opportunity to exercise your faith - not your greed, but your faith.
Any robot can write a check each week for X dollars and give it to an organization. Heck, I do that when ever I pay a bill. But giving isn’t simply paying a bill. It is an act of faith. How do I know God wants me to give here? How do I know how much God wants me to give? How do I know how often or how long God wants me to give?
The average pimp church, or even the average church steeped in tradition, does not require you to consider these questions. “Just give what we tell you to give,” they say, “and you will be blessed. Now shut up and write the check.”
Here is an opportunity to do more than take the easy way out. It’s easy to say “I’m praying for you and your mom, brother.” But what you actually do is much more revealing. Afterall, James did say it’s a bit on the hypocritical side to say “Be healed and get well” and then not do anything to help make it happen. (Yeah, I know. He talked about being fed and warmed. But that didn’t fit in with the contents of the posting. Cut me a little slack here. )
The bottom line - consider if you should give to the “Help Josh’s Mom Get Okay” fund. And if you decide to do so, let me know. But don’t tell me who you are - post an anonymous on this article.
Of course if you don’t give, God’s not going to bless you, your clothes will be consumed by the destroyer, your car will fall apart, your house will need a new foundation, you will lose your job, your wife will divorce you and take the house and your children will come up homosexual. And I won’t even mention the fact that you will get a vicious case of the hives, the grass in your yard will be invaded by grubs and you will draw the attention and the ire of the IRS.
But don’t feel like I’m putting any pressure on you.
Melvin,
I’ve just recently come to the conclusion that the tithe isn’t for today. I don’t know why it took so long for me to see that in Scripture. What clinched it for me was Abraham’s story. Usually, it’s used as an argument that tithing predates the Old Covenant. BUT Abe didn’t tithe off all his income either, just off of one particular event and he didn’t take deductions, so it wasn’t his actual income.
Very interesting stuff.
God bless you and yours,
Phil Perkins.
(MN: So how does your newly found freedom feel? )
Good. No more guilt, no more compulsion. And, just for the record, my wife DO give. We secretly support a retired missionary. We will take her in, when and if the time comes if God so blesses us with that priviledge. (Of course, we haven’t told her that.)
Not only did Abraham tithe off a military windfall, but he gave the remaining 90% back to the King of Sodom (minus the expenses incurred in the war by his young men and the portions his friends won, whom he would not speak for.). He did not want to gain riches in the land of promise from the heathen king. He was waiting until God enriched him later by giving him Canaan in the Kingdom age. This is one way he “grew strong in faith, giving glory to God.”
Like Abraham, we are being offered the world in the coming age. It is then that we will inherit our riches. Jesus told us to lay up treasure in Heaven instead of doing it here. One of the ways we can lay up treasure is by giving private alms to needy brethren.
Stan,
Good homework! Thanks for the biblical info. VERY good.
Phil
Oh, yeah–I DO realize that we in the west are filthy rich. So NOT giving at all is hideous, too. In fact, many of us could give half.
Phil.
If y’all are saying that pro forma tithing is not a N.T. thing, and that the idea of “storehouse” tithing (the local church being the sole repository of these tithes) is not a N. T. teaching, then I am with you.
Giving, however, is clearly mandated. Giving it all is the suggested percentage.
(MN: I don’t think anyone, not even the posting, disagrees with you. )
My pastor preached a GREAT sermon on giving. He started out by reminding us that we spent two and a half years studying the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus tore up the mentality of his time that said, “It’s ok to meet the minimum requirement, and it’s ok to meet the requirements on the outside only.” And then he reminded us that whenever Jesus tore up the numbers- and outward action-based mentality of his day (huh! Just like ours!), he demanded a higher, deeper righteousness.
In other words, the grace-motivated, joyful, hearty giving we see in the NT isn’t a lower standard than in the OT! Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. And in joy we can respond with grace-motivated giving that is planned, generous, and proportional.
Right now, I am living basically month to month. I give what I can, with gratitude in my heart, and I am grateful that my church doesn’t punish or withhold fellowship from me because I’m not able to give as much as I’d like!
Melvin, I found a church for you. It’s the Church of the Saviour featured in a Washington Post article this week.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/05/AR2009010503341.html
I haven’t been able to find tithing in the New Testament anywhere, yet preachers insist on teaching tithing. The Lord gave me complete deliverance from the tithing teaching about three years ago, and I’ll tell you what…it is a freedom that can only be topped by freedom in Christ! I am so glad that the Lord showed me that He is not up in heaven frowning on me because I cannot afford to dump ten percent of my income into some pastor’s pocket. But I am a cheerful giver….I love to give to the Lord what He has blessed me with, and especially now that I am in a church where I feel absolutely sure that the monies are being used to further the cause of Christ. The pastor of my church is humble, not extravagant, and does not pressure the people to “tithe”. Thanks again, Melvin…keep up the good work.
what city do you live in, I hope you say cleveland,ohio I would like to find a church like that.
Melvin,
Thank you so very much for helping me spread the word of our need. We are very grateful and want to humbly thank you.
Blessings,
Josh
Mr. Melvin:
On my blog, I visited the issue of tithing and giving. I would like to share with people what I went through when I was under a Pastor that worshipped the Word of Faith Pastors.
One post is entitled, “Does Being a Realist Display a Lack of Faith?” and “Shamed Into Submission: My Journey Through Spiritual Abuse and Spiritual Neglect.”
The latter post is from a memoir that I am completing by the same name that exposes the horrors I endured before I became schooled in sound doctrine (I attribute that to stumbling upon this site and Pastor John’s site). So really and truly, I have come into the light within the last year (which is when I found this site). I may not have all the answers I need. However, I have enough to know that I don’t ever want to be hoodwinked again.
(MN: So you see folks, Julia and people like her are one of the reasons I keep plugging at the site. )
YES!!! Because of Pastor John E Coleman, i too had my eyes open ( oh and his the Holy Spirit) along with this website!! ( what up Melvin)
daniel
Atlanta GA
Anonymous, you give some very intriguing information about the finances at FBCGotK. But as always, I need sources and ways of verifying. Copies of checks would be good, other folks providing info would be good as well. I like the fact that you mention names and perhaps I will call a couple of the named individuals and ask them a few questions.
Melvin
This set me free……
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Study+Guides/40-5127
Tulsa, Ok.
Continuing to go against the grain for Christ!!!!
(MN: As always, I will provide links. But that doesn’t mean I completely agree [or not] with the contents. I expect you to use your judgment and developing discernment to evaluate all you read. )