Blessed Coming In, Blessing Going Out

So for those of you who know my story, I was laid off in November of '08 and had to take a job in Florida while my family remained in Nashville. My wife held down the fort while I went to carve out a living while trying to keep my sanity being away from my beloved Kim and my girls. Being in Daytona, the area I grew up in, presented some great ministry opportunities. I knew my season would be short there, so I wanted to use all my time there as wisely and as Kingdom oriented as I could. I did a lot of worship leading, teaching, praying and speaking into people's lives as much as I could. I had some rough patches, but over all, I have little regrets regarding my time in Florida.

So, this brings me to my point of this - Deuteronomy 28:6 says that I am "blessed coming in and blessed going out." When I got the job in Florida, I negotiated a "sign-on" bonus. So I was blessed going in. Kim and I had some heavy discussion about should we rent or sell our house and move to Florida. We worked on renting it, but it just felt like we were forcing it; didn't feel natural. So we realized, I need to focus 100% on getting back up to Nashville. So, I followed some good leads, got some good feedback from my resume was hoping to have an offer and head home. I realized by doing this, that I would be putting in my two weeks notice at Masco, and would be walking away with nothing. However, that is not God's way. Before I could quit, I was laid off! How awesome! Awesome? Yes, awesome. Instead of me leaving, they laid me off which caused them to pay me for my unused vacation and give me a severance package. So I drove home, took a one month paid vacation, and started a new job in Nashville. I even negotiated a new MacBook Pro as part of the deal. I couldn't be happier. God has blessed me going in, and going out. His word is true. You can trust Him. He can make a way where there is no way.

Worth More Than A Sparrow

So I heard yesterday I was not chosen for a contract job with HP. I was really bummed because it was a work from home gig and the pay was good. So I went on another interview with a company that works with organ donations. Though noble, voice and network engineering is the same no matter where you do it. I was bummed because I was hoping to avoid having to drive downtown, be gone all day and get home at 6 every night. However, I'm grateful for the opportunity and hope I get it.

So this morning I was reading through Matthew and read where Jesus commands not to worry about your life, not to worry about what you will eat or drink or what clothes you will wear because the pagans run after these things. But that I was worth more than a sparrow and that he knows when a sparrow falls. How much more valuable to Him are we than sparrows?

So in the middle of my conversation with Father, on a cold Tennessee morning on the front porch, a sparrow flew up, landed on a branch on the small maple tree in our front yard. When I saw it I knew what the Lord was saying - "Hey, if I have this guy taken care of, I can take care of you." It was very reassuring.

Aaron and His Sons Have No Inheiratance

So in my on going search for truth, I have been digging into tithing, it's roots, it's history, what the bible says about and how or if it applies today. So far I have been disappointed in what I have read and learned in contrast to what is being taught. Just this last Sunday, as clever as it was, a song was played called "Paying The Tithe" and was a remake to the BeeGee's hit of yesteryear "Staying Alive." After what I have read, it's difficult to sit through something like that -

So let's visit Numbers 18 and get to the bottom of this.

It was Aaron and his sons that were the primary recipients of ''tithes''. In addition, they were responsible for any offenses that would come to the temple. In other words, if someone defiled the temple, Aaron and his sons where held personally responsible. This is quite a charge. (Numbers 18:3) The Levites were given to Aaron and his sons to help with the duties and service to God and his temple. (verse 6)

Something interesting I noticed while reading this - is that verses 11 through 20 speak of "first fruits." There was a special offering that was the "first fruits." This was an offering of sacrifice. If you had a cow per se, and it was old enough to reproduce, you were required by Mosaic Law to give that to Aaron and his sons. But what is notable is that the first born of cows, sheep and goats were given as a sacrifice, NOT as a tithe. This is a major departure from the modern teaching of tithing in many churches today. From Numbers we learn that the sin offering was the first fruit, not the tithe. We are taught differently. We are taught that when you get your paycheck, you take the first 10 percent of that and pay it to the local church and anything beyond that is an "offering." However, that is not found in scripture.

So, finally in verse 21 it is written "And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation." So, who has the Lord given the tithe to? The Levites! So the argument is, that since modern day pastors and ministers are in service of the tabernacle of the congregation, they should receive a "tithe." However, we have a new covenant with better promises. Verse 24 reiterates this "But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance."

The "heave" offering is an interesting concept. There is no perfect translation for the Hebrew word "terumah‎" which could be best described as a "lifted" portion or a portion set apart for "higher" purpose. You may even stretch that and call it a portion lifted higher for holy purposes over the common portion for normal use.

Now before anyone gets worked up into a lather, I want to make it clear that I am in NO way saying that those who minister the gospel are not worthy or shouldn't receive monetary gifts. Just the opposite! But I do not believe the bible teaches that New Testament believers are not under the "tithe."

More to come...

Walls of the City

While in worship, I saw a picture that I believe was prophetic. It was night. There was a wall that looked like it was either unfinished, or partially torn down. Somehow I knew that many of the master wall builders had left the city, and only a few remained. I saw two men working hard to rebuild or make the wall. They had dull hammers and their attempts to shape the rocks were unsuccessful. It was clear they did not have the tools, skills or patience for this work. They would pick up a new rock, try to make it fit, and if they could not, they would cast it aside. The wall was slowly being built, but only by those rocks that had a common shape, or easy to mold. This was done at the cost of many beautiful stones that could not be made to fit. This made the wall weak. When the rocks that could not be made to fit were cast aside, some would break, some would crumble and some would be covered up, lost, never picked up again. This, I believe is a spiritual picture of the state that Daytona is in.

Lord! Bring back the Nehamiahs and Ezras! Restore the mantle of the pastors and fathers of this city! Remind them of the spiritual authority they have in You! Amen!

Under the Tithe?

No don't be mad at me. I've been taught from the day I stepped in church as a believer in the late 80's that I was compelled to give 10% of my income into my local church. This money was needed to pay for the mortgage of the building, the lights and the Pastor's salary. Then, once a month another "offering" was taken for missions. After 20 years, I can quote Malachi 3:10 from memory. I realize this is the most systematic bible teaching I have received.

Please understand, I am not against GIVING. Obviously, God wants us to be like Him. He is generous and does not withhold even what is most precious to him. I will say that it is a bit strange to me that of all are 1050 commands in the New Testament, not one says to "tithe." We see examples of incredible sacrifice, people selling their properties and laying at the Apostle's feet and even people dying for lying about what they sold and supposedly gave. So why could Paul, Peter, James or John not fit in one good command about tithing? I realize that I did not have a biblical understanding about tithing, so here is a quick rundown of some interesting facts about tithing:

No where in Scripture is "money" ever tithed. Agriculture, seeds, fruit, oil and livestock was, but gold or silver is never given as a tithe - ever!

Tithes were given only to Levitical priests. Unless you are a Levite that can trace his heritage back to Aaron, you are not biblically eligible to collect tithes. (Numbers 18:24) New Testament pastors, traveling speakers, prophets and worship leaders are not scripturally able to receive tithes. However, if you know a ministry, church, missionary or of someone who is doing the Lord's work, by all means give cheerfully! But that is not a tithe.

If the Temple was the place to bring in the tithe, the temple was destroyed and God now dwells in a temple made by hands. (Matt. 24:1-2)

Tithing dates back to pre-Mosaic law. And get this - Abraham tithed ONE TIME to Melchezidec and only gave 10 percent of the booty of his war spoils and the other 90 percent he gave back to the king of Sodom. (Gen 14:20) He did not give any of his personal flock, agriculture or money.

Gentiles were never commanded to tithe in the Old or New Testament.

Moses commanded Israel only to tithe the INCREASE of seed - not a tenth of all their seed! (Deut. 26:12)

Okay - I think you are getting my point. Be a cheerful giver! Give to the stranger, the widow and the orphan. Give as the Lord leads you to give! But you, as a New Testament believer not under the tithe. Remember, God gave us the 5 fold ministry to serve the body, not the other way around.

One last thing - Here is a passage I found in the book of Deuteronomy. Yes, that's in your bible. You probably aren't ready for this, but it's in there - here we go.

Deut. 14:22-29 -

Thou shall truly TITHE all the INCREASE of thy SEED, that the field brings forth year by year."

"And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place which He shall choose to place His name there, the TITHE of thy CORN, of thy WINE, and of your OIL, and the FIRSTLINGS OF THY HERDS and of thy FLOCKS: that thou may learn to fear the Lord thy God always.

And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set His name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:

Then shall thou turn it into MONEY, and bind up the MONEY in your hand, and shall go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose:

And thou shall BESTOW THAT MONEY FOR WHATSOEVER YOUR SOUL LUSTETH AFTER, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for WHATSOEVER YOUR SOUL DESIRES: and YOU shall eat there before the Lord thy God, and THOU shall rejoice, THOU, AND THINE HOUSEHOLD.

And the Levite that is within thy gates, thou shall not forsake him; for he has no part, nor inheritance with thee.

Enjoy -

There If You Want It

I've come to the realization that in our spiritual life, when we begin to cover new ground, begin to see things established in our lives - the freedom that a new job can bring, a revelation that sets us free from some false premise that we build our lives on and the like, there will be resistance.

This resistance must be confronted with prayer, fasting and intercession. If we resist the devil, submit to God, he will flee. James tells us this. If we sit and do nothing and do not submit to God, then the devil does not have to flee. Evil must be confronted and defeated. God has given us the authority and ability to do it. But we must supply the willingness to follow Him. When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard (battle flag) against him.

When Something Breaks

Thursday night Sean and I were doing a little road ride to Ponce Inlet. We were making our way down to the boardwalk (aka the "Oude Kwaremont") and at exactly 7:37pm I felt a rush come over me and I knew that something in the Spirit had broken. It felt like when you get X-rays at the dentist, they put a lead vest on you. When they take it off, you feel all that weight come off you. That is how it felt. It was unusual that I felt this doing something as mundane and typical as riding my bike. I asked Sean if he felt it and he said no ,but then said something profound. (Which he does often) He said that since we are connected to God that it shouldn't be that unusual that we would sense what He's doing something or when there is a shift in the spirit realm.

What is God's Perfect Will?

I have been contemplating this for a while. What is God's perfect will for my life? What is it specifically that he wants me to do with my life? I can give you that answer without hesitation - God's will for my life is for me to know him and to be transformed into the image of His son. Yes, it's that simple. On that road, I believe that we will do many things, preach, teach, evangelize, worship, struggle and be heated by the trials He allows into our lives to better refine us. When we walk with him, we are fulfilling His greatest desire for us. I believe he'd much rather have us, then not have us and us try to win the world.

I hear people say "I'm called to be a Pastor." Great. Go pastor. Go win 4 or 5 of your neighbors, invite them to your house, teach them the word of God. Who told you that you needed to be employed by a church to pastor? If God called you, then what are you waiting for? If you are called to be a prophet, go prophecy, etc. We often mistake the recognition of men as the seal of approval by God. I'm not trying to promote an independent spirit, but if you go to a large church of a 1000 people, what's the likelihood you will ever get a change to preach or teach?

I also believe there is too much emphasis on "personal destiny." Your personal destiny is to know Him and be transformed into the image of the Son. Everything else will flow out of it. Sure, it takes some trust and faith, but without faith it's impossible to please him. Show me the scripture that eludes to "you have a personal destiny in God." Unfortunately, that line of thinking forces us to focus WAY to much on ourselves and puts us in a position of a spiritual pyramid marketing salesman; thinking everyone you meet is a stepping stone to your goal. It is the servant of all who will be the greatest among the church. I encourage you to seek those whom you can serve instead of seeking those who can serve you. Well, that is, if you want to be great in His kingdom. I'd much rather be great in His kingdom by serving his saints then great in mine by serving myself.

I've been caught up in this myself, thinking that everyone who played an instrument was sent by God, to me, to fulfill my personal destiny to be a superstar. I missed divine opportunities to speak into the lives of many talented, gifted psalmists and musicians because I was so busy trying to manipulate them into playing a show or gig with me . Gigs and shows that mean nothing now and didn't mean much then, truth be told. If we seek ministry to get somewhere, we get nowhere.

"What must we do that we may do the works of God?" They asked Jesus. He simply said "Believe on Him who He sent." Sounds good to me.

I hope to use this blog as a way to capture some teaching ideas and thoughts. Hope it helps.