Tag: Thanksgiving

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, Daily, Inspirational2 Comments

The scripture for today is 2nd Corinthians 9:7 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

0-BOOK 4-FOLK HERO-COVER“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

There are many religious leaders who insist that Christians tithe. But that was part of the Law of Moses, and Jesus nailed that written law to the cross (Colossians 2:14).

Actually, the Jews were required to give more than a tenth. (1) Deuteronomy 26:12 said the Jews had to give an extra tithe every three years for their welfare program. So, if someone tithed $900 a year, s/he would have to tithe an average of $300 more per year for the welfare program, equaling $1,200 year. If the yearly income was $9000, this would take it up to 13.3% a year. (2) Also, according to Leviticus 27, they had to pay for their vows, which in many cases were really special prayer requests. (3) They also had to buy animals for sacrifices for intentional sins, unintentional sins and sins requiring restitution. (4) If they wanted to thank God for anything, they had to buy grain for a sacrifice (Leviticus 1-5). If they didn’t have to buy the animals or grain, they had to take them out of their own supply, thus depleting their own “pay check.” (5) And every time one of their flocks or herds had a first-born, they had to sacrifice it ~ another depleting of the “pay check.”

So the good Jew under the Law of Moses did not just tithe. He ended up giving about one third of his income. Galatians 5:3 says that, if we keep one part of the Law, we have to keep all of it. There were over 600 burdensome commandments in the Law of Moses!

In today’s scripture, Christians are being released from this burden. Instead, they are being told to decide in their own heart. Christians are released from serving and giving through obligation, and set free to serve and give through love.

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, Daily, InspirationalLeave a comment

The scripture for today, November 3 (11/3), is Luke 11:3 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

HS-COVER-KINDLE-GOLD“Give us each day our daily bread.”

This is part of the ideal prayer that Jesus taught his followers to say. We claim to agree with it. But do we completely?

Do we feel like it is our hard-earned money that bought that bread? Do we claim it is our ability to cook that created that bread? Do we claim it was the hard work of the farmers and their equipment that brought us the grain from whence the bread is made? Or the mills that ground it into flour? Or the stores that brought the flour to the consumers?

Ultimately we must look past all of this to that which is beyond our control. It is God who makes the sun to shine down upon the seed. It is God who makes the rain to come down to water it. It is God who places life in the buried wheat germ for it to reproduce with a flourish.

Many activities of man bring us our daily bread. But ultimately it is God the Creator who makes it all possible. He not only makes it possible for good people, he brings bread also to the bad. He loves everyone so.

On By Inspirations By KatherynIn Bible, Daily, InspirationalLeave a comment

The scripture for today, May 18 (5/18), is 1st Thessalonians 5:18 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

This is one of the most difficult verses in the Bible to follow.  How can we rejoice with the loss of a loved one, of health, of a job, of a home, of a position?  The Christians at Thessalonica, in Greece, had been suffering a lot of persecution for being Christians.

Satan will do all he can to cause bad to happen in your life in order to get you to blame God and forsake him.  But the real blame belongs on Satan.  It may sometimes seem like the harder you try to follow God, the worse things get in our life.  In that case, apparently Satan is afraid of your strength in the Lord and is trying to weaken you and get you back on his side.

And sometimes God stands back and tells Satan, “Do your best.  This person will grow stronger, not weaker.”  Along with the Christians in Thessalonica, you can “become a model….your faith in God can become known everywhere” (1st Thessalonians 1:7-8).

So rejoice that Satan is so afraid of you.  And at the same time, keep your eyes on Jesus who never gave in when Satan caused bad to happen to him.  Rejoice that you are counted worthy.