I chose the two articles
in our newsletter this week from those that Mac and
Ron have sent to me because we are headed into a new
year. These remind us of our responsibility as born
again believers to share the gospel of grace with others
and to share what God has blessed us with. Also the
podcast I chose from David's radio shows speaks to what
is going on in the middle east today.
Mac Dominick has given
us an article this week titled "NEXT LEVEL
DISCIPLESHIP" and Ron Riffe has written
"Becoming
a steward for Jesus Christ". Also Doug
researches the news for us giving me a wonderful group
of news articles for me to wok with to keep us all up
on world, USA and Israel events and more in our Daily
News Updates page.
This recording from over
25 years ago illustrates how deep this hatred goes.
David speaks of many events that happened so many years
ago that led to the mind set of the Palestinian people
today and their deep seated hatred of the Jewish people.
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NEWS UPDATES
NEXT LEVEL DISCIPLESHIP by
Mac Dominick
One need not be a rocket
scientist to be more than aware of the increasing chaos
around us. Sanity and reason seem to be disintegrating
right before our eyes. Along with this disintegration
of any semblance of order comes the fact that our churches
are (as a general rule) shrinking--not growing. There
is no discipling going on, and no doctrinal foundation
established as an anchor for the faith of the average
parishioner. Our local church recently completed an
excellent course on discipling based on major Bible
doctrines. The course is appropriately named Foundations.
This study is certainly a good start to strengthening
our Bible-believing assemblies. But we must take discipleship
to the next level...So what is this next level of discipleship,
and how do we accomplish it?
We can begin our quest
by reading a biblical account of Jesus meeting with
disciples on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection.
This account is found in Luke 24:13-27:
"And, behold, two
of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus...And
they talked together of all these things which had happened.
And it came to pass, that, while they communed together
and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with
them. But their eyes were holden that they should not
know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications
are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and
are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas,
answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in
Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come
to pass there in these days? And he said unto them,
What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus
of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and
word before God and all the people: And how the chief
priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned
to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that
it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and
beside all this, today is the third day since these
things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our
company made us astonished, which were early at the
sepulchre; And when they found not his body, they came,
saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels,
which said that he was alive. And certain of them which
were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even
so as the women had said: but him they saw not. Then
he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe
all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ
to have suffered these things, and to enter into his
glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets,
he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things
concerning himself."
For our discussion, the most relevant aspects of the
conversation between Jesus and these disciples are as
follows:
• Jesus was critical of them for not believing
all the Old Testament Scriptures regarding Himself.
He went so far as to call them fools for their unbelief.
• Jesus, with this one statement, teaches us how
to interpret the Old Testament Scriptures
• Succinctly, we must see God the Son in the Old
Testament.
• Even the Foundations study used 5 times more
New Testament than Old Testament passages in their doctrinal
presentation. (This is not necessarily a criticism of
the course, but rather, an observation of omission.)
If Jesus was insistent
enough to call His disciples fools for this oversight,
ought not we be concerned with the modern "evangelical"
tendency to minimize or ignore more than 2/3rds of the
Word of God--not to mention the predominant absence
of seeing Him in the Hebrew Scriptures?
So, how should we begin
to find Jesus in the Old Testament? I am glad you asked.
First, when we embark upon Old Testament interpretation,
all the standard rules apply:
• To whom was it written?
• When was it written?
• What is the context?
• Consideration of the culture of the Ancient
Near East (ANE).
• Always interpret in light of other Scripture
• Once we gain an understanding of the text in
context, we must apply Jesus to that understanding.
(That is what Jesus was criticizing on the road to Emmaus.)
There are certainly passages
in the Old Testament that obviously point to Jesus.
Examples of these include Isaiah 53, Psalms 22, Isaiah
7:14, and Isaiah 9:6-7 just to name a few. But what
of the passages that are not so obvious? Certainly,
Jesus spoke of more than a handful of passages to his
fellow travelers. We need to start by looking for pre-incarnate
appearances of the 2nd person of the Godhead in the
Old Testament Scriptures. This equates to the Jewish
teaching of two Yahwehs that appear frequently within
the Sacred Hebrew Text. From our current New Testament
perspective, we will term this as Christology in the
Old Testament.
Examples of Christology
in the Old Testament are as follows:
• Angel of the Lord
• The Name--Name Theology (Exodus 23:20-21)
• The Word (Psalm 33:6)
• Yahweh in human form (Christophanies/ Theophanies--Material
Anthropomorphism)
- The Divine Captain that appeared to Joshua before
the battle of Jericho
- The Lord appeared to Gideon
- The Lord appeared to Samuel's mother and father
- The Lord came and stood before Samuel
- The Word of the Lord reached out His hand and touched
the lips of Jeremiah
(The designation of "Lord" that appears in
our English Old Testament is Yahweh in the Hebrew. Also,
the designation of "Jehovah" in our English
Old Testament is also Yahweh in the Hebrew Text. The
word "Jehovah" does not appear in the Hebrew
Text and thus is not God's name. God's name is Yahweh.)
We also need to pierce through the surface of our English
translations and enlightenment mindset to see Jesus
in difficult passages. Just a few examples that are
not obvious:
• In Psalm 29, the
phrase "the voice of the Lord" appears 7 times.
If one considers the word "voice" as equivalent
to the New Testament designation of “the Word"
as in John 1, "voice" = "word."
Therefore, the "voice of the Lord in Psalm 29 is
none other than the 2nd person of
the Godhead, Jesus.
• Psalm 82:8 reads,
" Arise O God; judge the earth, for thou shalt
inherit all nations." In the culture of the Ancient
Near East, which family member receives the inheritance?
A perfect example is the account of Jacob and Essau.
Jacob stole Essau's rightful inheritance because Essau
was the eldest son. Therefore, the inheritance went
to the eldest son. In Psalm 82:8, who receives the inheritance--not
the Father, but the Son. Here we see that Jesus will
inherit all nations when the corrupted, disloyal Sons
of God are destroyed at Armageddon.
(The nation of Israel is currently God's only inheritance.
Deuteronomy 32:8)
• Psalm 68:18 is
another very interesting verse: "Thou hast ascended
on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast
received gifts for men..." By once again referencing
the New Testament, one discovers in Ephesians 4:8 (Wherefore
he saith, When he ascended upon high, he led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men...) that the One that
ascended on high is Psalms 68 is none other than God
the Son--Jesus Christ.
The problems in our churches
with seeing Jesus in the Old Testament today is 3-fold:
• The Rabbis who survived the destruction of Jerusalem
and the loss of their nation were so distraught over
the rise of Christianity that they intentionally tampered
with their Sacred Texts (which became the Masoretic
Text) to eliminate as much correlation with Jesus of
Nazareth as possible. (Dates of the Genesis genealogies,
psalms with Messianic implications exemplified by the
life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and direct prophetic
utterances such as Zechariah 10:12 were altered by Rabbi
Akiba and his Jamnia School.) Since the Masoretic Text
was used as the primary source document for practically
every modern English translation of the Old Testament,
this tampering necessitates the study of the Greek Septuagint,
Dead Sea Scrolls, and other ancient manuscripts in search
of the original text.
• Today's "Evangelicals
and Fundamentalists" are moving further away from
the Old Testament Scriptures. Many churches take the
attitude the New Testament obsoletes the Old Testament,
and therefore the Old Testament can be completely ignored,
as we simply need to "preach the Gospel."
As we have previously noted, nothing could be further
from the truth. We must teach the Old Testament with
Jesus in sight---He is the "2nd Yahweh," the
Second Person of the Trinity, God the Son. (These negligent
methods also tend to promote Calvinism, Amillennialism,
and attitudes of Anti-Semitism.)
• Today's Bible-believing
Christians tend to limit God and the power of the Holy
Spirit to our present state. This is done from the pulpits
and teaching venues of our churches by an overemphasis
on "the practical application of Scripture,"
concentrating on seeking the solutions to our own felt
needs, and a complete obsession with our current physical
reality. Additionally, there is the tendency of pastors
and teachers to ignore the scholarly understanding of
Scripture that in essence, brings it to life. As a result,
there is an underemphasis on the text itself, the supernatural
aspects of spiritual conflict, and a failure to see
the "therefore" in Matthew 28:19 that directly
precedes the Great Commission.
The tragic results of
these issues are churches full of Christians who not
only cannot defend their faith but are also easy targets
for the enemy to infuse doubts in their minds when confronted
with the difficult attacks of educated skeptics.
Plan of Action:
• We cannot unsee Jesus in Old Testament.
• If we can infuse the love of and the desire
to study the totality of the Scriptures in our parishioners,
this next level of discipleship will result in a church
that is prepared not only to face the "fiery darts
of the wicked one," but also to thrive in the present
world of spiritual chaos.
• We all need to follow the command of Scripture
to "study to show thy self approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the Word of Truth." (II Timothy 2:15)
• We must concentrate on and be true to the text.
If we are to claim to be "people of the Book,"
we need to start acting like it. We must submerse ourselves
into it--and that includes all of it.
With all due respect to
Andy Stanley (which is slim to none), this author stands
with the declaration of the late Dr. Chuck Missler:
"The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed.
The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed."
The 2 work together and
cannot be separated. Together they reveal and prepare
modern Christians for the coming Messiah and His future
Kingdom on the earth.
Title: Becoming
a steward for Jesus Christ
Subtitle: If we learn this
lesson, blessings will multiply!
The very first article
I wrote for Cutting Edge Ministries 25+ years ago was
on this same subject. So I guess you are wondering,
“why repeat it?.” Well, for starters I am
now 25+ years older and, I hope, much wiser. The Word
of God means what it says and says what it means, and
we never stop learning as long as we expose our minds
to what it says. It is truly a supernatural book made
up of 66 chapters and contains everything—and
I do mean everything—God wants His children to
know. So with that having been said, my next question
is “do you want God to bless you and your family?”
I’m guessing that if you are a genuine believer
in Christ, you desire all that He has to give. Right?
Well, just how does one go about receiving it? That’s
what I want to convey in this article.
First of all, we must
learn about the subject of being a steward as taught
in the Bible. Speaking under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul had this to say: (1) “So
then, let us [apostles] be looked upon as ministering
servants of Christ and stewards (trustees) of the mysteries
(the secret purposes) of God. (2) Moreover, it is [essentially]
required of stewards that a man should be found faithful
[proving himself worthy of trust].” (1 Corinthians
4:1-2, Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).
In speaking of the term
“stewards” Paul is alluding to a concept
almost as old as mankind, where wealthy masters appointed
a trusted slave or some other servant to take care of
the day-to-day business of running his estate. One of
the most well known examples of the steward/master relationship
is found in Genesis 15:2, where we learn the name of
Abraham’s steward: “And Abram said, Lord
GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless,
and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?”
Later on in Genesis 24:2, Abraham refers to “his
eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that
he had…” Abraham was greatly blessed of
God and in today’s vernacular, “he became
filthy rich!” But let me hasten to add that blessings
do not necessarily mean the attainment of riches. The
Lord told of a widow who was so poor that she gave all
the money she possessed. And here is what the Lord said
about such selfless giving: (41) “And Jesus sat
over against the treasury [*where those worshiping at
the Temple gave their tithes and offerings] and beheld
how the people cast money into the treasury: and many
that were rich cast in much. (42) And there came a certain
poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a
farthing. (43) And he called unto him his disciples,
and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this
poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have
cast into the treasury: (44) For all they did cast in
of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in
all that she had, even all her living.” Mark 12:41-44
(KJV) [emphasis and *insert mine].
So Eliezar was obviously
a beloved and highly trusted servant of Abraham with
many years of service devoted to his master. And what
many believers today fail to understand is that for
all intents and purposes that servant lived a lifestyle
very little different than that of his master! Technically
speaking, he did not own the estate but he had complete
access to it and lacked very little, if anything, he
desired!
With these facts in mind,
let’s look at our relationship with our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. The very moment we receive Him
into our lives through the new birth, the Holy Spirit
of God takes up a permanent residence within us—never
to leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5, KJV). Jesus
Christ becomes our Master and we become his servants—actually,
“bond slaves,” to use a bible term! In those
days slaves who loved their master and never wanted
to leave him, even when freedom was offered, were identified
as such by having their ear pierced with a leather awl!
The awl was, and still is today, a sharp pointed leather
punch for making holes in leather goods. And that hole
in their ear identified them as loving bond slaves,
for all to see. We do not have holes in our ears today,
but maybe we should to show the world to whom we belong.
Christ bought and paid for us on the cross and we are
forever His loving bond slaves and He is our loving
Master. But beyond that wonderful aspect of association
there is a tremendous blessing that Christians continue
to misunderstand and neglect. Remember I pointed out
that the faithful steward lived a lifestyle essentially
the same as the master? The Lord is possessor of heaven
and earth and thus is infinitely richer than King Solomon
ever was! Think about that for a while…..and realize
good stewards have access to the very riches of heaven!
Then realize not being a good steward is literally cheating
yourself!
Why do pastors preach
on the subject of stewardship? Unfortunately, because
they are humans and therefore sinners saved by grace
like the rest of us, sometimes they give in to the flesh
and desire more than God has allotted to them. And that
is a sad fact which has caused untold grief among many
congregations. So upsetting in fact that sermons on
the subject of stewardship have become about as popular
as a skunk at a picnic! And while I am on the subject
of preachers—I am one, so that makes me qualified
to “blow the whistle” on those who stray
beyond the bounds of propriety. For instance: back when
I was much younger (prior to, say the 1960’s),
preachers pretty much had it made where the Internal
Revenue Service of the US Government was concerned.
When tax time rolled around, they enjoyed liberal tax
deductions that others did not have. But over time those
deductions were canceled. Want to guess who were responsible
for it? That’s right, greedy preachers who were
a disgrace to their Lord and lied about tax deductions
in order to obtain ill-gotten gains. That is exactly
why preachers today have to really watch what we claim
as deductions because the IRS is on to those who try
to cheat. And to make things worse, many of those preachers
turned to a new scam: preaching totally ridiculous and
unscriptural messages to the effect that “God
wants you (church members) to be rich!” They knowingly
and maliciously lifted verses out of context in the
Scriptures which were given by God to the Jews, that
if they were obedient and kept His laws, He would materially
bless them. Did God at any place in the New Testament
promise believers He wanted us to become rich? Absolutely
not!! As a matter of fact the Apostle Paul, speaking
under the influence of the Holy Spirit, said “Yea,
and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12, KJV). RICH????
Give me a break! The “name it and claim it”
bunch were hucksters who wanted folks to give to them
because God in return would make the donors rich. Will
they never learn? In fact, I had not been writing articles
for Cutting Edge very long when David Bay, the late
director of the web site, asked me to call a certain
man he knew who was all upset because he had “financially
invested” in his church and had not reaped the
proposed benefits. I tried to talk to the gentleman,
but he was past being consoled and that, from a human
perspective, was a sad day for the cause of Christ.
So now that we have tried
to sweep away some phony baloney, let’s talk about
how God will bless us if we give to others. In the following
passage the Lord is talking to some Pharisees about
the subject of giving—one of the many things they
did not ordinarily do beyond the required tithe at the
Temple. But that teaching by the Lord in chiding those
religious hypocrites is very pertinent to us as believers
today. Here is what the Lord had to say:
“Give, and [gifts]
will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken
together, and running over, will they pour into [the
pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as
a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the
measure you use when you confer benefits on others],
it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38,
Amplified Bible).
Also in conjunction with
the theme of giving, the Apostle Paul said this: (6)
“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall
reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully
shall reap also bountifully. (7) Every man according
as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly,
or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
(2 Corinthians 9:6-7, KJV)
Note the word “cheerful”
in the verse above. It is the Greek hilaros and literally
mean “hilarious.” In other words, God loves
believers whom it just “tickles them to death”
to give to others. Have you ever given sacrificially
to someone else and experienced indescribable joy? The
title of that first article I wrote so many years ago
was: “The best kept secret in the bible.”
Why did I use that particular title? Because the vast
majority of Christians literally cheat themselves out
of God’s storehouse of blessings (remember that
blessings are not limited to money and come in all shapes
and sizes), because they have never by faith tested
Him to see if He means it! Giving a tithe—a tenth—of
your income to the local church is not required of Christians
as it was for the Old Testament Jews. And it does not
qualify as sacrificially giving to someone in need.
But giving a tithe to the church is very necessary for
practical reasons such as paying for expenses such as
the pastor’s salary, utility bills, etc., without
which the church would not function very long—even
if the pastor served without pay. Keeping the lights
on and the temperature inside at a comfortable level
is necessary for people to keep coming. But giving a
tithe does not include the biblical standard of “offerings”--which
were over and above the tithe required of the Jews.
And, as my preacher said while I was still “wet
behind the ears” spiritually speaking, “It
would be a shame to give less than that required of
the Old Testament Jew.” I have never forgotten
that statement and with that being said, I now want
to brag on the Lord for His amazing grace.
May dear wife and I passed
our 61st wedding anniversary back on May 24th 2024 and
other than a couple of years we spent together in Germany
while I was still on active duty in the Air Force (1963-65)
and a year after we returned to the States, we have
been faithful to God’s house. We joined an Independent
Fundamental Baptist Church in Decatur, Alabama on November
20th 1966—our baby girl’s first birthday.
And both of us learned more bible in a few short months
than we knew existed, even though both of us had grown
up in Southern Baptist Churches. Our spiritual lives
have been a growth process that is still going on today.
My parents taught me about tithing by example. Every
pay day my dad would bring home the check and give it
to my mother who would then cash it and put a tenth
of it into a covered cut-glass bowl on top of the refrigerator.
Both of them had grown up during the Great Depression
of the 1920’s and 30’s and to say they were
tight-fisted would be an understatement
born of necessity! But they practiced what they preached
and as far as I know, they never deviated from their
systematic giving as long as they lived. And following
their example, my wife and I continue to experience
blessings to such of an extent that I have told others,
“it borders on embarrassing.” For example:
we put our two daughters through college “out
of pocket.” Even though my wife was working as
a Registered Nurse and I at the time was an electronics
tech with government contractors at George C. Marshall
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, our budget did
not allow for many luxuries such as eating out very
often. Yet we were greatly blessed when the bills came
in for college tuition, etc., there was always sufficient
funds to pay them—even though a few times my wife
told me she was concerned, but at the last minute it
seemed—the money was always there! I am convinced
beyond any doubt that God honored our faithfulness to
Him and His work on earth. Such events seemed to be
a modern example of the “barrel of meal and cruse
of oil” in 1 Kings 17:14-16, when the widow of
Zerephath and Elijah
miraculously had for food “many days.”
But I’m not through
yet! That sweet little woman I married has a giving
heart the likes of which I had never experienced before.
And I must admit that I have a tendency to hang on to
money and be very careful in letting it go! But over
the years her giving spirit won me over and—in
no way am I bragging on us—situations have arisen
that we had the money when others had desperate needs,
and by faith we were able to meet them. In some cases
involving thousands of dollars, we swallowed hard and
give the money necessary to bail them out. And here
is the amazing part: our “bottom line” has
always bounced back and it is truly a joy to watch God
honor His Word! We do not have any stock portfolios
or interest bearing accounts or sources of income other
than our retirement checks, social security and a weekly
stipend lovingly provided for me by the little country
church I have served as pastor for the past 8 years.
God is so good and I truly wish I could get believers
to let go and trust Him by faith to give until it feels
good!
A very successful businessman
named Robert G. Letourneau was a perfect example of
someone who loved God and wound up being a multi-millionaire
that lived on 10 percent of his income and gave 90 percent
to the Lord! Do yourself a favor and read the following
article about his life: https://www.peoriamagazine.com/archive/ibi_article/2011/rg-letourneau/
In that article his humor was seen in the following
statement: Someone asked him at the peak of his success,
“How many men work for you?” His answer
was “about half of them!” Of course he was
kidding and his business grew exponentially because
of his generous heart of giving to the Lord as well
as to others. His testimony for Christ still lingers
long after his death—something every one of us
as believers should strive to achieve.
Now I want to shift gears
and remind all of us how God has tremendously blessed
believers today by comparing the Church under grace
versus Israel under the Law of Moses.
The ancient nation of
Israel (who is still in the news today) was brought
into existence by the will of God working in and through
a former idol worshipper named Abram. This man lived
in Ur of the Chaldees, located in what is modern day
Iraq—a godless nation far to the East of Israel,
where God spoke to him: (1) “Now the LORD had
said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from
thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land
that I will shew thee: (2) And I will make of thee a
great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name
great; and thou shalt be a blessing: (3) And I will
bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth
thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be
blessed. (Genesis 12:1-3, KJV).
Throughout the Old Testament
we see this man Abram, renamed Abraham by God, exhibit
a degree of faith that was astounding by any standard
of measurement. He left his family behind and accompanied
by his wife Sarai (also renamed Sarah) and his nephew
Lot, made the long and arduous journey up the “Fertile
Crescent” of Mesopotamia and then down into the
Promised Land of Canaan—bordered to the West by
the Mediterranean Sea. And, as they say, “the
rest is history.” The offspring of Abraham was
Isaac, and of Isaac, was Jacob—renamed by God
as “Israel,” whose progeny have returned
to the Land of Canaan and re-established the nation
of Israel after 2000 years of exile. When their ancestors
rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah and murdered
Him, God gave them about 40 years of “slack”
and then in A.D. 70, allowed the Romans to completely
destroy the nation and scatter the Jews all over the
known world of that day. They had finally exceeded God’s
proverbial line in the sand and one of the reasons for
that harsh judgment is found in the following admonition:
(7) “Even from the
days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances,
and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return
unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein
shall we return? (8) Will a man rob God? Yet ye have
robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee?
In tithes and offerings. (9) Ye are cursed with a curse:
for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. (10)
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there
may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith,
saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the
windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that
there shall not be room enough to receive it. (11) And
I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall
not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall
your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field,
saith the LORD of hosts. (12) And all nations shall
call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land,
saith the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:7-13, KJV)
Tithes and offerings were
required of Israel, under the Law and praise the Lord
they are not required for the Church under grace! But
wait a minute….! If we take the time to reflect
upon what it cost Jesus Christ to purchase our eternal
salvation, why should any of us display an attitude
of ingratitude? Sports fans, God does not need our money—instead
He has made us stewards of His infinite wealth as well
as His infinite love. The very least we can do is pay
attention to those around us—especially God’s
people: “As we have therefore opportunity, let
us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are
of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:10, KJV)
Sometimes fellow believers experience times of heartbreak
and need—not to mention persecution from the ungodly
masses of this world. So why don’t we pay attention
to the challenge God made to Israel in the passage from
Malachi above? “...prove me now herewith, saith
the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows
of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall
not be room enough to receive it…” Yes,
the context clearly indicates this was directed to Israel
and not the Church, but as God’s stewards we have
every right and responsibility to lay hold on His wealth
for the benefit of others. And in closing, let me remind
you that as a genuine believer you own absolutely nothing!
He literally bought and paid for us with His precious
blood. Every stitch of clothes on our backs, every morsel
of food in our mouths and every worldly “possession”
belongs to Him and He is allowing us as stewards to
use it for His honor and glory. I’m bragging on
God because my wife and I are living proof that God
abundantly blesses those of His children who take Him
at His Word.
Could it be that you have
never bowed your head in prayer and asked God to save
you? Or perhaps you have done so, but do not have the
assurance of salvation? If either of these are true,
please click on the following link to our “What
must I do to be saved? A self-test” https://www.cuttingedge.org/news/salvation.html
Then after reading it, if you have questions, please
feel free to contact me by Email. (Address below).
