Giving to the Kingdom

 Deuteronomy 14:28-29
bring all the tithes” so the Levites, “foreigners, the fatherless and the widows,” could come and “eat and be satisfied”.

There has been a lot of debate and discussion about tithing. Does the Bible require that Christian tithe to the church? There are many who believe that part of following Jesus is to give at least 10% of your income to support the work of God. There is no doubt that the Old Testament instructed God’s people to bring their tithe to help support the needs of the ministry and to help those who were not able to help themselves. One would argue that we are no longer under the law of the Old Testament and there is no such mandate given to believers in the New Testament. Much is said in the New Testament about giving of your means to help the spread of the gospel of Jesus, but there appears to be no commandment or set rule on how much you should be giving. We know that Paul encouraged believers to give and often thanked those who gave to support the work he was doing to tell others about Jesus. We also know that, in our present day, it requires money to maintain a church ministry, or any kind of ministry that desires to reach out and help people who have physical and spiritual needs.
Let it first be established that it is not possible to buy the favor of God, or give enough to pay for salvation. Salvation comes only through believing Jesus paid the price for our sins and confessing our sins and believing He is God who can reconcile us back to Him. But when a person has given their life to Christ, a transformation of desires begins. We seek to be more like Him and the things that we once desire to please ourselves are now turned toward the things of God. We now want to give all that we can to support the work of the Kingdom. We take inventory of how we are spending our resources. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinth. 10:31)Our life is no longer ours, but it belongs to God, All of it! Our money, time, effort, emotions, and spirit now belong to Him. God does not want 10% of you, He wants all of you. I believe that we are stewards of what we have and none of it belongs to us. What we do with it all depends on what kind of relationship we have with Him. If we love Him, out of a cheerful heart, we give to see others come to Christ. We desire to help those who are in need of a helping hand. We don't give so that God will bless us, we give because that is what Jesus would do. Don’t hold back what God has blessed you with to fulfill your selfish desires, but let Him take full control of everything you have. Don’t be in bondage to only give 10% but give to please the God you serve. Live in moderation, provide food and shelter for your family. Enjoy life, but remember, everything you have belongs to Him, and His desire is for us to first seek the kingdom of God. 

Doing the Work of God

 Numbers 3:8
They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle.

All work done to build the kingdom of God is with purpose and is not done in vain. We are all workers together to see the work of God’s tabernacle (His church) be a lighthouse to point others to Jesus. All who are in Christ make up this holy tabernacle, the church of the living God. The church is fitly put together, each of us having a task to do. Paul writes about the importance of each task. “If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?” You may feel insignificant, and the work you do is not important, but all things done for Christ are noticed by God. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”(1 Corinth 10:31). What God wants are people who are willing to do the task given to them with thanksgiving. Human nature desires approbation and appreciation for work that is accomplished, but what is important is that we receive the approbation of God, His approval with our life and the work we do for Him. Others may never call your name, or print out your charitable work in the church newsletter, but God sees what you do, and in eternity, that is all that matters. 

Striving into the Kingdom

 Luke 13:24

Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

The scripture is clear that salvation cannot be obtained through works, no amount of good deeds, or self effort is enough to secure our place in the kingdom. But, it is also clear that there is a role we play in having full salvation. Jesus said, “Strive to enter'' What is it that we strive for? The doorway to heaven is through Christ. We must strive to put our faith in Jesus. He is the only way to the Father. We strive to trust God to keep us in the path of righteousness. We are tempted daily, but we strive for the grace of God to bring us through temptation. Striving is to make a great effort to achieve a goal or obtain something. Striving is essential to maintain a life that pleases God. By faith we strive to accept Christ, and it is by striving that we enter into the straight gate into the kingdom of God.

Not By Bread Alone

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Matt 4:4 

…Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceed out of the mouth of God.

Man is not just a physical being in need of nutrients to keep them alive and healthy. People are created with a mind, body, and soul. People cannot truly live if they don’t feed the whole person. As creatures of flesh, we tend to focus on the body. Hunger, thirst, strength, and pleasure. But there is more to life than fulfilling the needs of the flesh. Man does not live by this alone, but it must be feed food from above, manna from heaven, the word of God. And this is the Word of God that speaks. Christ the bread of life, the fountain of living water, the One who gives spiritual and eternal life. The temptation is to put priority in making sure the physical needs are met first. This is known in the world as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. This is the way of the flesh. But Jesus’ hierarchy teaches that seeing God as our greatest need and then trusting Him to provide for all our other needs is the way of God. The greatest teacher that ever live on earth said,  “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you”. 

Waiting For Him

Isaiah 30:18 And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

Waiting is not one of my virtues. I don’t like driving in traffic waiting for the light to turn red. Waiting in line at the store to check out creates undesired stress. I think we all look for the shortest line, and become frustrated when it  moves at a snail pace. This is one reason I don’t enjoy going to amusement parks, I don’t want to wait in line for a ride that will last 5 minutes. I have endeavored to work on my waiting skills by using the time to find something productive to do, sometimes this works, but other times, I become frustrated and become impatient. Waiting for God to answer prayer or work out life’s problems or make His will know is not something that comes natural for me. I trust Him to know what is best. Still waiting on Him move in our church, to see an outpouring of His Spirit. I’m waiting on God to open the eyes of the blind, to work in lives of those we have been praying. We labor and work for the kingdom of God planting the seed. We have been planting for 31 years in Denver, waiting for Him to give us the increase. 

Your Treasures

Matt 6: 21  …lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The treasures are the things you love and don’t want to let go. They are the things that are most important to you. Many live for the things of this world, the material things of this world, the approval of others, or the power to rule and command others. This is the mind set of one who is blinded to the real world, a world that can only be seen by spiritual eyes. They who abide in Christ know that this world is not our home. Our heart is for another world. Our treasure is stored in the kingdom of God. We live each day knowing that it could be our last, and only that done for Christ will last. We are not blinded to our earthly needs and desires, God does provide and blesses us with many earthly possessions. But they are not what really matters. Laying up treasures in heaven is to live on earth doing the will of God. To love Him with all our hearts and to treat others with love and respect.