Defending my beliefs

The scientists tell us that man as he is in his present shape and form goes back approximately 6000 years but man appeared on the earth some millions of years ago.

The argument that the Bible is a book that was concocted by Europeans to keep Africans in slavery or that the Bible was written by Europeans is a lie that is perpetuated by those who chose to deliberately deceive, are ignorant or those who chose to reject the truth.

Those persons who insist that Europeans used the Bible to justify enslaving Africans should also present proof that the missionaries that left Europe and came to the West Indies and defied the estate owners, sacrificed their lives in the name of Christianity, in order to teach the slaves to read and write must prove that this is a lie. It must also be proved that the slave trade came to an end not because of the war wage in the parliaments of Europe but because of the efforts of the slaves themselves.

I love when I encounter persons who have read, understand and are critical of the Bible. Persons who make comments such as, the Bible was written by Europeans to Keep Africans in slavery are not deserving of an answer.

It is okay to ridicule fellow descendants of former slaves as being stupid and accepting the Christian religion but should you really be critical of us. In the article I wrote, “Even if I am wrong I remain a happy fool”,  I pointed out that as Christians you will find us among the most elite groups in this world and you will also find us among those living in alms houses. The common thread to all Christians is that we believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God.

In her latest book The Servant Queen and the King She Serves, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II acknowledges that she is a servant of Jesus Christ. In South Africa this weekend https://www.goodthingsguy.com/people/millions-south-africans-pray/ millions are gathering to pray for their country. The uniting force between Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, the millions gathering to pray in South Africa, billions worldwide and myself is that we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and we are privileged to be his servants. We also believe that the Bible which you reject and ridicule and claim is full of bs and lies is the inerrant word of God.

We fully respect your right to ridicule and reject the Bible but are you sure that you are in a position to tell kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers, politicians, celebrities, judges, lawyers, doctors, PhD’s, professors, teachers, paupers that what they believe is wrong. The same Bible that is read by her majesty the Queen of England is the same Bible that is read by the pauper. When you ridicule the beliefs of the descendants former slaves you are ridiculing the belief of those listed above because we all believe the same thing.

In light of this I take the opportunity to congratulate you because you are so smart that you look on us all as idiots.

(I wrote this in response to a friend in a different social media setting challenging what is written in the Bible in particular his saying that the Bible is full of lies and bs. The question that he wanted Christians to answer I did not attempt to answer because he did not really desire answers but thinks that Christians cannot defend what they believe. The passages that he selected had nothing to do with the question he asked. )

Can the Roman Catholic Church rise to the call?

“A group of middle age white Americans between the ages of 45 – 55 are the fastest dying age group in the US”.

I was in the kitchen and my antennas went up when I heard the anchor for the television evening news read this statement. I stopped what I was doing to look at the television and there was being shown the nicest of caskets because the comment was also made that a certain business sector was booming because of this. The figure given out by the television news anchor was 80 deaths per 100,000 persons and had been trending for the past fifteen or so years. The causes of death were drugs, alcohol and suicide.

80 deaths per 100,000 of the population may appear small but when taken in equivalent terms of 800 deaths per 1,000,000 or 24,000 deaths per year in the US resulting from drugs, alcohol and suicide. This is also equivalent to 66 deaths per day in the US resulting from these factors. The report emphasized that these were preventable deaths.

An interesting note in these findings was that these deaths were occurring among men and women with less than a college degree.

In the context of religion man is recognized as having both a physical and spiritual component. Those who reject the idea of man having a spiritual component will more readily accept that man does have a mental component which also needs to be fed. Those who accept that man has a spiritual component will likely be familiar with the words “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” The idea is that both the physical and the spiritual men need to be fed and feeding the spiritual man is just as or even more important that feeding the spiritual man.

The question begs to be asked, if the church is carrying out its mandate to reach the lost? Maybe the church its doing its best but then again? The average church in the US boasts 75 members and these churches will more than likely have problems supporting a pastor and paying the bills. There are also the mega churches with their multimillionaire pastors and these are what the world see as representing the church in the US.

The persons who does not have money are destined to suffer because the pastors of these mega churches along with the wealthy churches which can afford to pay for air time, encourages sending in prayer requests along with a donation. If you listen carefully to these television pastors then the message being sent out is that God will not act without a seed being planted. While this is happening hopelessness and despair drive many to ingest drugs, alcohol and commit suicide.

There is a story recorded in the Bible in John 4 where Jesus had a conversation with a foreign woman. The trend of the conversation led the woman to question Jesus about spiritual matters. The woman recognized that worship at the temple on Mount Gerizim was not meeting her need and she wondered if worship at the temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah really made a difference and provided the true answer. This woman had a spiritual void that needed filling and because it was not being met at the temple on Mount Gerizim and she was barred from going the temple at Jerusalem she tried filling the void with men but kept changing men because they were not fulfilling her need.

There is a possibility that some of the people who are dying from drugs, alcohol and suicide turn to these because the spiritual needs in their lives are not being met. The Protestant/Evangelical church is not meeting this need because the focuses of the Protestant/Evangelical churches are money and programs. The environment of the evangelical church is not one that encourages the attendance of seekers and those who need help. The pastors within the evangelical churches have no need to exert any effort more than to encourage members to give money. The messages that are being preached from the pulpit of evangelical churches will immediately turn off seekers.

The Salvation Army has been outstanding in its work of helping the needy but the task appear to be too big for the Salvation Army alone.

This could be a ripe time for the Roman Catholic priests to once again champion the cause of Jesus Christ their Lord. This is no way implying that the Roman Catholic priests have not been doing their work. One of the marked differences between the evangelical pastors and the Roman Catholic priest s is that the Roman Catholic priests have taken a vow of poverty. Where the evangelical pastor can aspire to become a multimillionaire living a luxurious lifestyle the Roman Catholic priest has vowed to maintain the simplest of lifestyles. The evangelical pastor must maintain a status as befitting the membership of his church while the Roman Catholic priest as the representative of Jesus Christ is obligated to meet the need of the outcast, rejected and neglected.

There is a section of the population of the US that need help and it is obvious that this section is not being reached by the practitioners of religion. Religion has the food that can feed the spiritual needs of these people because at the most religion should be offering an alternative to drugs, alcohol and suicide. If the Bible is read carefully then not all the church groups will have the answer to meeting the deep spiritual need of these people. These people also will not feel comfortable among all the groups that goes by the name of church and Christianity because Christians basically lacks empathy and understanding.

This could be the right time for evangelicals to take a look at what the Salvation Army and the Roman Catholics have been doing and take a page out of their books. 

Its an African thing

Christianity as a movement according to the Bible was founded by and should be attributed to Africans. This in no way negates the fact that Jesus Christ is and remain the central figure of Christianity. The movement whose adherents were later called Christians was well established and had taken roots before the Apostles who were originally trained by Jesus of Nazareth heard about it.

Joseph of Cyprus ( aka Barnabas) was sent to investigate the movement which originated in the city of  Antioch of Syria and he on arrival in the city of  Antioch gave validity to the movement. Barnabas is believed to have been personally trained by Jesus of Nazareth although he was not one of the twelve Apostles.  According to the Bible Barnabas introduced the brilliant scholar, Saul of Tarsus to the movement which was already well established and Saul of Tarsus spent the rest of  his life propagating the movement. (Saul of Tarsus aka Paul the Apostle).

As the New Testament is read it becomes obvious that there were two versions of the good news about Jesus of Nazareth. At the front of one movement was the Apostle Peter and he focused on spreading the message of Jesus of Nazareth to the Jews. The other movement was the one began by the Africans among the Greeks in the city of Antioch with Barnabas (Barnabas was a Jew) giving leadership.

A careful reading and understanding of the first missionary journey of Paul the Apostle will show that although Paul was the one doing the talking, it was Barnabas that was the recognized leader.

The mention of Africans in the Bible is not a strange phenomena. "Can the Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Jeremiah 13:23). The Sabeans were also from Africa and were reputed to be in excess of 12ft tall.

Africa is introduced into the New Testament when Simon of Cyrene (Mark 15:21) was forced to assist Jesus of Nazareth with his cross while on his way to be crucified. This Simon of Cyrene had two sons Rufus and Alexander who were well known and active in the early church. Cyrene can be found in present day Libya. Simon of Cyrene was not necessarily a black man because Jews had scattered and were living throughout the known world. There is also the mention in the New Testament of  an Ethiopian eunuch in the Book of Acts. It should be noted that all Jews were required to present themselves before the Lord God at the temple in Jerusalem three times each year. Both Simon of Cyrene and the Ethiopian eunuch could have been Jews who had traveled to Jerusalem   for one of the required festival.

According to the Bible it were men from Cyrene who introduced the message of Jesus of Nazareth to the gentiles Greeks. The Greek believed the message about Jesus of Nazareth and soon there were so many Greek believers that the Apostles in Jerusalem took note. This was unique in that these Greeks became followers of Jesus of Nazareth without converting to Jewish customs and beliefs. This was to later cause controversy because some Jews later contended that these Greek believers should convert to Jewish beliefs and customs. A council meeting was held and the general consensus was that non-Jewish believers in Jesus of Nazareth should not be forced to covert to Jewish customs and practices.

There was another influential African later in the church, Cyprian the Bishop of Carthage.

The present day church came out the movement that began in the ancient city of Antioch in Cyria whether Protestant or Roman Catholic.

The trans-Atlantic slave trade began with the Spanish at the suggestion of a Dominican priest Bartolome De Las Casas. The church never accepted culpability for the slave trade and it will never be known how many Africans died or were killed as a result of four hundred years of the  trans-Atlantic slave trade. It is ironic that the very movement that were began by Africans were to later regard Africans as less than humans and use the Bible to support its actions.

The enslavement and ill treatment of African have forced the church and Europeans to reinterpret the Bible. Preachers in the church and Christianity present Paul the Apostle as the greatest Christian but will not say that according to the Bible the Christian movement began of Africans or had prominent Africans in its early leadership. The church will not accept Africa as the cradle of civilization.

There are many persons of African descent who presently reject the Bible, the church and Christianity under the pretense that the Bible was used by Europeans to keep Africans in subjugation. The reality is that when Christianity was well established in Ethiopia the countries of  Europe and America were still uncivilized. The time has come for Africans to once again claim what rightfully belong to Africans.

The church and Christianity was not founded by Europeans. The Bible was not written by Europeans to keep Africans in subjugation as many ignoramus claim. Paul the Apostle did not begin the christian movement.

There are many persons of African descent who are ridiculously contending that Africa need a black god and a black messiah when it does not really matter if the men from Cyrene who originally shared the message about Jesus of Nazareth with the Greeks in the city of Antioch were black or some other color, the important thing is that they shared the message and they were from Africa. The Ethiopian eunuch was from Africa and he too would have taken the message about Jesus of Nazareth to Africa. On the Day of Pentecost recorded in the Book of Acts there were Africans among the people gathered to hear the message preached by the Apostle Peter and they too would have taken the message about Jesus of Nazareth back to Africa.

Like so many things that belong to Africa Christianity was hijacked by Europeans and Europeans continue pretending that they have an access to God that Africans don't have. It is time for African to reclaim what truly belong to Africans.   Europeans continue claiming they are sending missionaries and preachers to Africa to proclaim what was first begun by Africans when it is time for African to once again take the message about Jesus of Nazareth to the Europeans..

Even if I am wrong I remain a happy fool

We are among Kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers and leaders of countries and states that presently exists on the earth. We are among lawyers, doctors, judges, scientist and the most brilliant minds that grace this planet earth. We are among the billionaires, the millionaires, the successful businessmen and those who fail in business and other ventures in life. We are among the downtrodden, the rejected, the destitute, the poor and the  most miserable of humanity. We are Christians and we believe that some two thousand years ago a man named Jesus of Nazareth walked this earth. We believe that  this man Jesus of Nazareth was God manifested in the flesh and now he provides the motive and the hope for our living.

We educate you in your universities and institutions of higher learning, we teach your children in the classrooms of schools, we treat you when you are sick, we dispense your medication, we serve your food in the restaurants, we wait on you in the supermarkets and banks. In fact we are everywhere and you relate to us but we do shout or make a noise and sometime we do not maintain the expected standards but we remain Christians.

You have to understand that for two thousand years we have endured the worst that humanity can devise and we have survived. We have been thrown to the lions and wild animals, burned alive at the stakes, been tortured, executed, persecuted, imprisoned and we continue being Christians. Those who hate us cannot understand why we have sung songs of praise while we are marched to our death. while they remain without hope we see our death as the beginning of our life. We are Christians and we believe that death is the door to living with Jesus Christ and while we are not careless with our lives or takes our own lives we do not fear death but we welcome death.

You may ask, if being a Christian is so great, who do so man walk away? The answer is that it is possible to begin enjoying the benefits of what Jesus Christ has promised here and now but many simply fail to access the benefits. There are many also who desire a life of ease and fail to recognize that in a similar way that God and Jesus Christ is hated, they too will be hated.

There are few persons who will have the time and opportunity to spend as much time studying and researching as the great philosopher Karl Marx , he is paraphrased as saying "Religion is the opium of the people". We as Christians do not need drugs to get high but the freedom that we find in Jesus Christ takes us to a height surpassed by drugs.  Where drugs does damage to the  brains and body Jesus Christ makes us better citizens and better persons. Marx knew that what we have as Christians can never be taken away because we presently enjoy the pleasures that awaits  when we die so he encouraged that citizens be not exposed to or learn religion.

Why does a few brilliant minds choose to insult their fellows and those more brilliant than they are? When you say those who only believe should keep silent are you not suggesting that the unlearned are ignoramuses. Those who are learned just so happen to believe the same thing that the unlearned believe. Insulting the unlearned because of their belief is also insulting the learned who believe the same thing as the unlearned.

We are Christians and we have survived two thousand years of attacks on what we believe. It is just too bad that you have gained enough knowledge so as not to be able to understand what faith can do. Jesus Christ changes a man inside out. Jesus Christ reigns as king in the Christian's thoughts and actions. One of the reasons that Christianity continue to survive is the change that Jesus Christ makes in lives. The learned continue looking for evidence and proof in science and books to prove that a man named Jesus of Nazareth walked this earth two thousand years ago. Another man hears the same thing and believes and he finds the proof in his attitude and thinking and to him Jesus Christ becomes real and the Bible make sense.

We are Christians and you may ridicule what we believe but we have something that you don't have and you do not offer an alternative to what we believe. One of us have things wrong but at least as Christians we remain happy fools which you try to take away but offers nothing in exchange.

Have a Happy New year.

Some things an atheist should consider

I recently came across an article written by a professing atheist. In the article he mentioned some books and their authors and the fact that he had silenced these authors so those who are not intellectually advanced were to keep silent.

This professed atheist focused his attack on the Bible noting that the Bible is a book of myths and tales that lacked the supporting evidence.  He noted also that there is no proof that Jesus of Nazareth really existed.

There are some basic truths that this atheist ignored; 

1. The Bible addresses the present
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (II Timothy 3:16 KJV). It is quite easy to miss the basic instructions to be practiced for daily living. The Bible do records historical events but it also contains basic lessons for life.

2. The Bible addresses the past

Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. (II Corinthians 10:11 KJV)
Stress, problems and testing are a part of the human experience and there is none unique to any one group of people. The Bible details the experiences of the people of Israel so that we can learn from their experiences. The people of Israel murmured and complain against God and they were punished. They serve as a warning that if we do the same then we too will suffer similar punishment.

3.  The Bible addresses the future

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4 KJV)
The Bible is a book about victories and deliverance in times of troubles. Those persons who champion the cause of God were subjected to persecution, torture and death yet they remained faithful to God. In times of stress and anxiety many of these persons experienced supernatural deliverance. These experiences are recorded in the Bible so that when in similar situations we can take comfort in the fact that the experiences of others in the Bible can be ours too because God does not change. (Atheist have problems believing many of the stories that are written in the Bible But there are countless stories of similar proportions as in the Bible that are documented as happening in Israel since 1948).

4. More copies of the Bible are stolen each year than any other books.

5.  In excess of 52,000,000 copies of Bibles are sold, stolen or given away each year.

6.  The King James Version of the Bible has sold in excess of one billion copies. There must be something to a book that is loved and remain a best seller for four hundred years.

7.  The history of western civilization cannot be studied without noting the effect of Christianity, the church and the contribution of the Jewish people. The real motivator behind the Jewish people, Christians and the church is God. Acknowledging their impact and contribution to western civilization is also acknowledging God.

8.  A modern philosopher wrote "religion is the opium of the people". This philosopher knew the impossibly of separation of a man from his God because of the inability to reach his mind. When the man's body is tortured he simply focuses on the prize that God has waiting. The very people who declared that God does not exist make it illegal to hear about God. If God does not exist why make it illegal to own a Bible or to hear about God. This philosopher understood well the concept that man is body, spirit and soul which is a concept that an atheist must of necessity deny.

9.  Christians and the Muslims owe their knowledge about God to the Jewish people. Approximately half of the earth population subscribe to the fact that there is a God. By virtue of this the atheist should join and become a theist instead of the few looking on the billions in ridicule to declare the billions as being in the wrong and the few atheists being right.

10.  The God of the Bible is particular to the poor, the oppressed, the downtrodden, the disenfranchised, the widows, the orphans, etc. These people more readily believe and experience God. The Bible does record fabulously wealthy and learned men who were close to God. The wealthy and the advanced in knowledge will have a problem accepting the message of the Bible and the writers of the Bible noted this that the message of God is a message to the poor etc.

11.  The international calendar that is in use at present is the Christian calendar. It is of no consequence whether the atheist care to accept or reject whether Jesus of Nazareth existed or not because each time he writes the date of the year he gives testimony of the existence of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus of Nazareth was declared to be the son of God. If the atheist does not believe this everything remain fine because he is simply another who for two thousand years have been trying to prove this wrong.

12.  If the atheist were to do a historical check then he will discover that there have been countless attempts throughout history to destroy the Bible and also to destroy the Jewish people. The Bible and the Jewish people are testimony to the existence of God. The two remain strong while those that oppose are dead and have been forgotten or their memory are with ignominy and contempt.

Finding God

Science and Christianity agree that the fact that something exists means that there had to be a time when it did not exist and so there must have been a time of beginning. The means and time of the beginning of the existence the material world is where science and Christianity part ways.

Science is in the process of trying to prove the possibility of creating some thing out of nothing and that order can naturally and without external forces comes out of chaos. This bring in focus the calculation of time. The rotation of the earth on its axis allows for the season, day, night etc. The sun is estimated to be ninety millions away from the earth but what exist beyond the sun? Is there light beyond the sun or the calculation of day and night? Is it darkness,or nothingness until there is light from another sun? 

Christianity embraces the teaching of Judaism that  there is a God who is responsible for creating and sustaining everything. This God is eternal and self-existing so he lives in a sphere where there is no darkness or any regulation of day and night. Time as far as God is concerned is non-existent.

Science try to explain the evolutionary process from billions of years in the past to the present. Science also seek to provide possible answers as to the how of  what now exist could possibly have come into existence. The presupposition of science is that formulas that work for the present can also be applied to the past.

Christianity must always contend with finding proof to the existence of God. There are no philosophical or ideological argument to use to prove the existence of God. There are also no material evidence that is to be presented by the Christians to prove the existence of God. It is just as impossible to prove that God does not exist. Man demands that God provide the existence of proof for his existence. God on the other hand challenges man with the question, who are you to challenge me?

The God in which Christians believe is really the God of the Jewish nation. It is impossible to separate this God from Christianity or the who belief system of Christianity will make no sense. This God became a man (Jesus Christ) to bring man once again into a right relationship because man had rebelled against his rule. The   Jewish nation however would have nothing to do with this man Jesus Christ.

One particular Jew, Saul of Tarsus later championed the cause of presenting Jesus Christ as the Jewish Messiah and Jesus Christ being the only way to a right relationship with God. This Saul of Tarsus tried preaching this message to Jews of the Diaspora but got to the point of being so fed up with his message being rejected by the Jews that he began preaching this message about Jesus Christ to the Non-Jews. The non- Jews gladly believed and accepted the message. This resulted in the Non- Jews historically looking down on the Jews and proclaiming that the Christians are in a better standing with God than the Jewish people. The Jewish people were later dispersed from their homeland while Christianity went on to become the principal religion of the Roman empire. Christianity continue to be the dominant religion today.

In trying to find proof for the existence of God, Christianity resorts to the records in the Jewish holy writings. In Jewish thoughts and holy writings, the man who deny the existence of God was considered to be a fool. This resulted from the fact the the man had  Jewish traditions, the history passed down by word of mouth from fore parents, the prophets who spoke on God's behalf  and most importantly the tabernacle with the Ark of the Covenant as proof to the existence of God.

The God of the Jews quite often used the forces of nature to accomplish his purposes and testify of  his existence. This included his servants and prophets exercising supernatural control over the forces of nature. In a contest between Moses and Pharaoh the king of Egypt there was the gradual destruction of Egypt even as Moses called on and activated the various forces of nature. Joshua caused the diversion of the Jordan River for the people of Israel to cross over. David experienced plagues and drought and these were seen as a reflection of the displeasure of God. The prophet Elijah deliberately called for a drought over the country. 

During times of war God also acted. One military general heaped insults and curses on God and in one night lost in excess of one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers. The favorite modus operandi  of God is to use the small and insignificant to accomplish the great band impossible. These most times included God providing a battle plan. The basic instruction from God being that he be acknowledged as the one providing the victory because outside of his assistance then failure would be guaranteed. It was the divine intervention which allowed for the insignificant to become mighty through God. 

Christians regard the works of God as displayed in the Jewish holy writings to be consistent and in the same way that he brought deliverance in the past he would do in the present. At present there are many persons who chose to ignore the Holy Scriptures but the same Holy Scriptures declare that the natural things around us are clear evidence that there is a God who originally put things into place and continue to sustain nature.

The church and money

I saw a post on social media this week “If money is the root of all evil, why does the church need it.”

This was the signal for the intellectually ignorant to have a field day vilifying God, Jesus Christ, the Bible, the church and Christians. These critics had no interest in the correct quotation, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: …..” (I Timothy 6:10).

It is ironic that these critics chose not to read the complete passage which actually condemns reasoning such as theirs and in which the writer Paul was not referencing the church but the moral and spiritual dilemma into which those whose sole purpose is to get riches and wealth fall.

These critics also took the opportunity to vilify the King James Version of the Bible. That in itself was a joke comparable to an ignorant student seeking to instruct an experienced professor. The King James Version of the Bible remain the best loved English version of the Bible and it is probably the only book that have exceeded a billion copies printed. There must be something special about any book that can rank as a best seller each year for four hundred years. These ignoramus are willing to deny the changes that have occurred in the lives of millions that have read and heeded the word of God. Their contention is that the King James Version of the Bible is a book conceived by man to deceive.

The church is comprised of those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to the earth and died so that man may be once again in a right relationship with the Lord God. Jesus Christ suffered and died for the sins of the world and through his death there is forgiveness of sins. The church is the body of Jesus Christ and believers are added to the church by the Holy Spirit. When a person hears the message about Jesus Christ and believes while making a conscious decision to turn to the Lord God and ask for forgiveness for sins then the Holy Spirit makes that person a member of the church (the body of Christ). The Holy Spirit also takes up residence in the body of the believer to take control of that believers mind and actions.

The church is not a building but a community of believers. The uniting force in the church is that it is the Holy Spirit that adds persons to the church and all members are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This is irrespective of national origin, race or social standing. All members are sinners saved by Jesus Christ and are brought in by the Holy Spirit and so all are on an equal standing before the Lord God.

The root of the idea behind the church building is found in the Book of Exodus when the Lord God told Moses to collect materials from those who were willing and to construct a tabernacle (tent) that he may live among his people. The idea behind the church building is not so much for it to serve as the place where God’s people gather for worship but for it to serve as the building where God reside in the community. This is the reason why church buildings are considered to be sacred and to be treated with reverence. Those entering the church buildings should be made aware that they are entering the house of the Lord God and the presence of the Lord God.

Building are subjected to the effect of time and the weather and from time to time must be up graded and maintained. There are equipments and materials that will enhance the beauty of the building and the worship experience. Technology also enhance making it easier to concentrate on the one being worshiped and eliminate distractions. These require money but persons who see giving to enhance the place where God lives in the community as a burden should refrain from doing so. The Lord God has no need for money on the one hand and on the other hand the Lord God has those with wealth who are more than willing to give. However, The Lord God want for all to share in the opportunity to give.

The promise of the Lord God to the people of Israel was that he would take them to a land of blessing. It is customary to speak of the twelve tribes of Israel but in reality there were thirteen tribes because Joseph got the blessing of two tribes. The thirteen tribes became twelve because when the land was divided according to the tribes then the tribe of Levi was not given any land but was scattered among the twelve tribes. The tribe of Levi became the ministering tribe or literally the servants or slaves of the other tribes. Where the other tribes were focused on working and gaining wealth the responsibility of the tribe of Levi was to assist where needed and to attend to the spiritual need of the other tribes. The focus then was not only to be on the physical but also on the spiritual. The command of the Lord God was that a tenth of the produce should go to the members of the tribe of Levi for their sustenance.

A priest/pastor is on call 24/7 for the members of his congregation and for the genuine priest/pastor he is not limited to his congregation but to anyone that is in need. The responsibility of the priest/pastor is to be devoted to the study of God’ word, prayer, fasting and to hear from God so that he can deliver God’s word to God’s people. If the priest/pastor is to function properly then he cannot be engaged in another or secular job. The priest/pastor should not have to worry about being able to support his wife and children, retirement, housing, paying his bills etc. but should focus on his main responsibility which is to see God’s people safely to heaven. The role of the priest/pastor is to focus on the spiritual needs of those whom he serves and it is the responsibility of those whom he serve to take care of his physical needs.

The promise of the Lord God to the people of Israel was that he was taking then to a land that was flowing with milk and honey (an idiom for abundance). In this land of abundance, however, there were going to be some who were poor and this was how the Lord God wanted it to be. Those who were poor were to borrow from the wealthy. The Lord God knew that the poor in some instance would be unable to repay what was borrowed from the wealthy but his command was for the wealthy to lend the poor as much as the poor needed. When the wealthy loaned to the poor and the poor was unable to repay then the Lord God assumed the responsibility for the loan. This is a principle that is found throughout the Bible.

There are many persons who want to bless the poor but have no idea of people who are genuinely in need of help or how to go about doing so. The focus of the church is much broader than that of the individual and the church can do more with the money of many individuals in assisting the poor than what an individual could do. This does not excuse individuals who contribute to the church from meeting the needs that they encounter. A part of the responsibility of the church is meeting the needs of the poor and this is an opportunity for the members of the church. The Lord God will be no man’s debtor.

The final command of the Lord Jesus Christ to his disciples was to take the gospel message throughout the world. There are two interesting passages in the Gospel of Luke because Jesus Christ at one time sent out his disciples and told them to take with them nothing. Later Jesus Christ, however, told the disciples that this time it was okay to take the necessary provisions. In order for the message of Jesus Christ to reach the world it takes money. If the modern means of communicating are going to be fully utilized then the church must also have the money to make use of these means.

We have on record in the Bible that Jesus Christ was entertained by a number of different people. Wherever he went Jesus also had his twelve disciples and perhaps others also. It is unthinkable that Jesus would go off to a meal at someone’s house and forget about his disciple. The people who entertained Jesus were persons of means but this did not eliminate the poor or those of modest means because that would be denying these persons the blessings of giving to Jesus’ ministry. The money given at church is one way of showing a willingness to be involved in the ministry of Jesus Christ.

The church exist not to be a burden to the community but for members of the community to show their appreciation and thankfulness to the Lord God. The church buildings serves as the building in the community where the Lord God lives so it is okay for it to be more grand and elaborate than any other building in the community. The money given at church is not money given to the priest/pastor but money given to the Lord God and one day they will have to give an account to the Lord God for that money. Giving to the church is not a privilege reserved for the members of the local church but if person feel a desire to give to the Lord God and the money was not obtained by immoral, illegal or unethical means then the church will accept such monies. Some church for the sake of conscience will not inquire about the source of the money.

One of the great privileges that God has given to man is to give to his work and to contribute to the building up of his kingdom here on the earth. The spirit where the church becomes a burden to its members is against the spirit of giving which God likes. God like a person who when he is giving is hilarious.