Scripture
On that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy. The women and children also celebrated, and Jerusalem’s rejoicing was heard far away.
~ Nehemiah 12:43 (CSB)
Quote
The reason there are so many unhappy, disgruntled Christians is that they are living in perpetual disobedience.
~Ya’akov
Moses taught the Israelites to practice the Sabbath, to tithe and to observe the Sabbatical year which came every seven years. It takes a little faith to rest on the Sabbath instead of working to make more money. It requires a little more faith to tithe. But practicing the Sabbatical year is a huge step of faith for an agricultural society. Every seven years, they let the land {soil} have a rest. Moses did not forbid slavery among the Jews but every seven years, they were to release fellow Hebrews who had become their slaves. When Nehemiah came to Jerusalem, he basically went by the book: He enforced the laws of Moses. David had set up a perpetual Temple ministry where singers praised God 24/7 and priest where there to pray 24/7 but all of this depended on the tithes of the people. There is no evidence in the Old Testament that the Israelites every practiced the laws of Moses for any extended time. They would do it for a while and then back slide. They were not even faithful to keep all the festivals. Nehemiah got all the plates spinning and then he returned to king Artaxerxes in Babylon. After some time, he begged another leave of absence and returned to Jerusalem and found, to his dismay, that the Jews had backslidden once again. They were buying and selling on the Sabbath and even using Temple rooms for storing their wares. They were not tithing which meant the Levitical ministry was dead in the water [no singers and priest on duty 24/7]. They were charging fellow Jews interest, enslaving fellow Jews and not releasing them on the Sabbatical year; nor were they giving the soil a rest. Nehemiah had a holy fit. He gave some of them a beating and even pulled their hair out.
Nehemiah carried the weight of the king so he had plenty of authority. He had a commitment service but he didn’t give folks a choice, he forced them to sign a pledge of allegiance. He re-instituted the law, making them tithe and close shop on the sabbath. He put the Levites back in the temple singing and the priest praying. He purified the Temple and drove the merchandisers away. Nehemiah put them back on the straight and narrow: he had them practicing the laws of Moses and the result…On that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy. The women and children also celebrated, and Jerusalem’s rejoicing was heard far away. The moral is simple: obedience produces joy. God loves obedience and He rewards it with joy. The reason there are so many unhappy, disgruntled {professed} Christians is that they are living in perpetual disobedience. How many true tithers do you know? If you stood in the pulpit and ask for a show of hands from those who tithed, half the congregation would raise their hand, yet in reality, it is less than 10%. When both husband and wife are employed and bring home in excess of six figures, $2,400 a year is not a tithe and neither is $6,000 or $8,000. I am no mathematician, but if you making six figures and above, your tithe can be no less than $10,000. The real problem is that we shouldn’t be talking about giving 10% because tithing is simply a place to start. Most of us should be far beyond the tithe.
I’m sure there are some who would say, “I don’t see where my not giving hurts anyone other than myself. My giving is personal, between me and God.” Oh really. Why don’t you get a bible and read Nehemiah several times until you figure it out. Your disobedience is hurting others and crippling the ministry of the church. You better thank your lucky stars that Nehemiah is not your pastor or you would be losing some hair.
- Antidote: A guy came up to me many years ago. He was a new face. He had been attending only a few weeks. He said, “Should I tithe my gross or my net?” I said “Your asking the wrong question. You want to know how little you can give and call yourself a tither. The question you should ask is: ‘How can I give more?'” A friend of his heard the conversation and he told me later. He’s pulling your leg. He doesn’t give at all. His friend was right.
- I don’t watch TV news and I’ve cut my radio off…I am sick of all the political ads and all the talk about football. I more worried about the election than the ball game. The election is a big deal, the ball game in reality is not. Not only have the Caiaphas Jews thrown millions of dollars into the fray, the unholywooders have chimed in. These idiots are making public appearances in behalf of democrats across the country. Middle class folks have got to turn out. The libs have a stated agenda: it is to take the house and senate. There first order of business is to impeach Trump. I don’t think they will stop with Trump: they will go after Pence as well. Never mind that the economy is doing better than ever with unemployment at an all time low. New jobs are everywhere but many folks don’t want a job. Every fast food restaurant in the country has signs reading, “Hiring now.” Whats really sad is that so called Christians will align themselves with Hollywood and the rich Jews. They hate Trump too. There is a contradiction there: how can they be Christians and hate others? It would really bother me if my views and Hollywoods were the same.
- I missed the upset special: it was Missouri over Florida which means my upset special–Ole Miss over SC did not pan out.
- Can you believe it? James Carville the political hack and one of the Clinton cronies is a professor at LSU. Does this university have no standards. How could a major university hire a man who is a known liar and trouble maker. The man has zero credibility, no class and he is devoid of integrity. The man is a joke. I missed his rant on Game Day. If anyone has it taped, I’d like to see it. ESPN which is anything but conservative issued an apology for what he said. What did they expect? Let me ask you a question, did Devin White make a difference? Najee ran over him once and he sure didn’t stop Brian Robinson.
- Had a good visit with Roger and Dot Sunday evening: Roger looked a little better. He is Encompass Health which is the old Health South facility.