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Pervasive Poor Eating Habit Let’s face it, you have a poor eating habit. We all do. And we don’t have to blame ourselves too much; it’s the kind of world we now find ourselves that cause it. I have seen people driving and eating at the same time. I have seen people at work typing away at their laptop with their left hand while eating with their right hand. We skip breakfast recklessly. Forget to drink water. And with the pull of our work tucking at our heart’s strings, we go for the quickest solution: fast food capped with junkie snacks and carbonated soft drinks. The memory of a good home-cooked meal remains that – a memory. What this all mean is that you are seriously malnourished even though you don’t want to admit it. And you are giving your body more work to do in digesting this processed foods and extracting vital nutrients. Taking supplements isn’t the ultimate solution here, but not taking them could be disastrous. https:///2zUEllB |
Pervasive Poor Eating Habit Let’s face it, you have a poor eating habit. We all do. And we don’t have to blame ourselves too much; it’s the kind of world we now find ourselves that cause it. I have seen people driving and eating at the same time. I have seen people at work typing away at their laptop with their left hand while eating with their right hand. We skip breakfast recklessly. Forget to drink water. And with the pull of our work tucking at our heart’s strings, we go for the quickest solution: fast food capped with junkie snacks and carbonated soft drinks. The memory of a good home-cooked meal remains that – a memory. What this all mean is that you are seriously malnourished even though you don’t want to admit it. And you are giving your body more work to do in digesting this processed foods and extracting vital nutrients. Taking supplements isn’t the ultimate solution here, but not taking them could be disastrous. https:///2zUEllB |
Topic: Is Tithing Relevant to Christian Age? By Tim Iwe (Evang) 07038669369 Introduction It is quite a blessing to have the privilege of writing an article like this at a time that this subject is in the airwave. There may not have been a best time to discuss this than now. My appreciation goes to Lusada congregation for creating the platform to share this special information so that many will not be ignorant of the will of God (1Thess.4:13). It is said that if you are not informed, you will be deformed. Christianity is an area that many are deformed from time to time due to acceptability of different personality as authority instead of looking for that which is right from the Holy book. The Pharisees asked Jesus “…by what authority do you do these things and who gave you that authority” (Matt.21.32) There is need to find out the source of authority of your action especially on matters of faith for false teachers are in the field deceiving many. The subject of tithe paying have been a heated argument in the Christian faith from time to time. I call your attention to some reasons in the written word of God concerning this subject. I plead with you to examine the reasons stated below so that you can know that you are obeying God when you pay tithe or not. An action comes from faith in God when it is according the will of God (Heb.11:6) and the will of God is written in the book of life. Origin of tithe in Ancient Palestine In the first place, where did Abram who first gave tithe to Melchizedek (Gen.14) got the idea from? There was no law given to our Patriarchal fathers like Adam, Noah, Abram, Isaac and even Jacob to pay tithe. According to the work of Let Us Reason Together, (2009) “Giving a tithe (a portion) was not just a practice by Israel, in ancient history it was practiced throughout the Middle East. It was income for the king and his kingdom, like a tax. It may be regular, voluntary or prescribed by law of a certain country. The Egyptians were required to give a fifth part of their crops to Pharaoh (Gen. 47.24). Abraham, Jacob and others were familiar with this principle being in foreign lands; however, it was not yet given as a command for their nation. How and Why did Abraham and Jacob paid tithe? Let us now call attention to one misconception about Abram and tithe paying. There are many who make reference to Abraham today when they want to pay tithe. Paul made it clear that we are children of Abraham by faith (Rom.4:1) Let me shock you first by opening your eye to this truth that reading well about the first tithe recoded in the Bible, you will understand that Abraham did not even give tithe from his possession. Read the statement again. I mean it and that is the truth. He paid tithe only once in his life time. It was not commanded but incidental. He gave tithe from the spoils that he brought back with him from a war (Gen.14:1-18). He gave away ten percent of other people’s captured commodities (Heb.7:4) Note that verse 4 of Hebrews chapter 11 calls it “spoils” Let me also make you to understand that Abraham did not even take any part of what he used in paying that tithe home (Gen.14:21-24) You can now see that Abraham did not became rich because he paid tithe. He was rich before paying tithe once for life which was not from his possession. The tithe Abraham paid is NOT by command but a free will offering. Abraham was never taught or instructed by God to give a tenth, nor did he discover the law of tithing. As recorded in Genesis 28: 20: ”And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” This second case recorded before the law of Moses was done once too. Why take a command from what these men decided to do on their own not commanded by God? Law of tithe among the Jews Let us now look briefly into the law of tithe given to the children of Israel and see if it is the same with what is going on in so called godly assembly today. Because of space, it will be in an outline format here but it will be understandable too. Akpobọmẹ (2018) in his work on tithe classified the OT tithe into 4. 1. The Main Tithe: all Israelites were commanded to pay this to the Levitical priests (Num.18:19-32; Mal. 3:7-10). See also Deut.18:3-8; Neh. 13:10-12). 2. Yearly Tithe: every Jewish family is expected to celebrate once every year with their families in Jerusalem or a selected location by God (Deut.14:22-27; 2Ch.6:6). 3. The Third Year Tithe: This was a communal fellowship for the poor, the widows, and the strangers, which was celebrated before God once every three years. It was equally important under the Law of Moses just like the other tithes (Deut. 14:28, 29). 4. The Tithe of Tithes: This was the tithe to be given by the Levitical priests to God from the tithe they collected from the Israelites (Num.18:25-28). It is Disobedience to Pay tithe with Money There is another important eye opener we want to show you now. Are you ready for the shocker? It is act of disobedience to God for a Priest to collect tithe from a fellow Priest (Num.18:21,24,26) for the Levites were not allowed to have inheritance. It is also showing a high level of disrespect to the grace of God today to pay tithe with money. Yes, the reason is that such kills the purpose of the tithe (Deut.14:24-26) God did not ask Israel to give their money but to give food items. It seems to me that you are saying in your mind that is what I have today. If God is omniscient, then He knows that you have money today but did not ask you to pay money as tithe. The Jews had money then too but God asked for products from them not money (Deut 26:13) The Change of Priesthood and its Implication It is painful that the most confusion that exist in Christian faith today is as a result of many not accepting that God has done away with the laws of Moses. It is not a challenge that stated today, even the Jews find it very difficult to accept that simple truth. That was the war between them and Paul in his earthly ministry. The author of the Book of Hebrews in Chapter 7 gave a analysis that concluded in verse 12 with this statement “For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law” Why are many people fighting God today who made it clear that He had done away with the first covenant upon which the law was set. He has done away with the Levitical priesthood upon which tithe was set. Please, can take a break and read the bible passages below and your eye of understanding will open to these simple truth. (2Cor.3:6-12;Heb.10:9,10;Rom. 7:1-7; Col. 2:14,16; Gal. 3:24,25) Divine law of Giving in Christianity You then may be wondering how will the church care for her workers and meet her daily needs and mission projects. Like most other organizations, the church needs financial income to accomplish her work. Knowing this, God has authorized churches to raise funds by taking up collections from the members (1 Cor. 16:1,2; 2 Cor. 8 & 9; Acts 4:32-5:11; 11:27-30; 2:44,45). However, the principle guiding collection by Christians is different from the one guiding the payment of tithe. Let Us First Give Our Lives to God’s work freely today Our lives presented as holy offering on the water of baptism for the remission of sins is what is most important to God (Acts.2:36-42) The kingdom of God on earth in a composition of those who have given their lives to be guided by the doctrine of the Apostles (Acts 2:42) They are saints whose minds are going through transformation daily till it gets to perfection (Rom. 12:1-2) These are disciples who have been taught and determined to give according to their ability.. (See also 2 Cor. 8:12; Mark 12:41-44; Matt. 25:14-30.) Conclusion The law of old was interested in the physical or the man while the law of liberty in Christ is interested in the heart of man and why you do what you are doing. Giving is one way you show your service to God and it must be done as you propose in your heart, cheerfully and not by compulsion. Tithe is of compulsion and therefore is a cause in this dispensation to any to pay it and fail in other laws (Gal.3:10) God loves a cheerful giver. Work Cited 1. Diffrẹ-Odiete Akpobọmẹ New Testament Christianity and Payment of Tithe (2018) 2. http://www.letusreason.org/doct54.htm 3. Wiersbe , Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament © 2001-2004 by All rights reserved |
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