169. Is Tithe applicable today?
Jesus never ever asked people to give him offertory. Jesus told people to help the poor and needy and never asked anyone to support him. None of the Apostles asked people to support them with offertory. Paul collected offertory for other poor saints and not for himself. Never once in the whole Bible do we read any prophet or Apostle or minister of God asking money for himself. People who asked for money in the Bible for themselves are Balam, Gehazi and the false prophets.
Christians wake up! Beware of any Christian preacher who uses Bible verses and ask people to give him Tithe / Offertory / Money.
168. What is Cheap Grace?
Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves… the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship…
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock…
It is costly because it costs a man his life and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life – the cost of discipleship.
-Opening lines of the book ” The Cost of discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I am not gonna put this book down till I finish reading it.
167. Practice what you preach
There are millions of preachers; teachers and Bible expositors on FB. Very few live it out. It is high time all the teachings are put into practice.
166. Caste in Christianity
Caste system is a voice that says “Hate your neighbour because he is not equal”. The commandment of Jesus is “Love thy neighbour as yourself”. Caste system and the commandment of Jesus cannot exist together in a Church. If they coexist it is not at all a church.
165. Who are the Saints?
All saints day – A day that is observed in religious Christian circles to remember and honour the dead.
Saints are not those who are dead. The graves have decomposed bodies. The souls are resting in paradise or ranting in Hedes.
Those who have life and those who follow Christ are called as Saints. The dead are not Saints.
164. Useless Knowledge
Knowledge of the Bible can be there for even an atheist. But to put that knowledge to practise definitely requires the “Fear of the Lord”; for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge without the fear of God will only puff up a man and that is vanity.
Reference verses :
Proverbs 1:7 ; 9:10 ; Psalm 110:11 – Wisdom
1 Corinthians 8:1 – Knowledge.
163. Dont Judge What?
When a false preacher twists the word of God/ fleeces the church and leads millions to hell; many would silently accept it.
But when someone exposes that false teacher and pinpoints his false teaching many would pounce on him and say ” God will judge/ How dare you judge God’s anointed”.
As long as such foolish people exist; the breed of false preachers will always be growing
162. Weak in Faith?
1) Abraham called his wife Sarah as his sister because he feared that he would be killed. A clear sign that he had wavery faith.
2) He received oxen, poultry, camels and servants from the Pharoah in exchange of giving Sarah to the Pharoah. He even went on to the extent of selling his own wife.
3) Abraham listened to his wife Sarah and slept with Hagar and Ishmael was born.
4) Abraham again calls his wife Sarah as his sister when Abimelech takes her away (She was 89 years old then) to save his own life.
Even though he wavered in his faith, he always went back to God and held God’s hand. He rested in God. Abraham never enjoyed any material blessings throughout his life. In fact he left everything and sojourned through out his life living in tents. God calls a man who fell down many times as the Father of Faith because that man accepted he was incapable of walking on his own strength and relied on God.
161. Why Grumble?
Many Christians grumble when things do not go their way. There are times when they question God and ask ” Why God? Why did this happen to me ? I have faith in you.; but why did you allow this thing to happen in my life ?”.
When we read Hebrews 11th chapter we see the biographies of many men who had FAITH in God. Let us see a typical pattern in thier life.
Abel had FAITH. He was murdered.
Enoch had FAITH. He never died.
Noah was a wanderer. He had FAITH. He was asked to go inside the ark.
Abraham lived in luxury. He had FAITH. He was asked to become a wanderer.
Joseph had FAITH. God took him from Israel to Egypt.
Moses had FAITH. God made him lead people from Egypt to Israel.
All of them had FAITH. But God had different plans and purposes in each person’s lives. None of them complained why God had a different plan for others. They just abided in God’s calling and responded in FAITH. If we are his children; we will abide in his calling and rest in him. We will never compare our lives with others and crib about it.
160 The verse in the car
I was waiting in the traffic signal this morning in Chennai.The visibility was less because of the fog. An old man who was in a bicycle lost his balance came in the way of a car. The man who was driving the car became furious; stepped out of the car; spoke some harsh words; slapped the old man; got back into the car and drove away. On the wind screen of the car the following words were written ~ “My grace is sufficient for you”
Carry the Bible in your heart and not just in your car
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