Do We Rob God?

Malachi 3:8-12 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be FOOD in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. s “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

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If you go to church it is almost a certainty that you will have, at sometime, listened to somebody talking about giving and offerings - probably more than once. Recently my attention has been drawn once again to this important question of giving and offering and how much is the right amount to give or offer. However this time the Lord seemed to want me to dig deeper into His word on the subject rather than the many thoughts of others. It was like digging up buried, long forgotten, treasures. And while digging around in His word this one thought kept surfacing - are churches today struggling because it is we who are robbing God even as we are giving generously to our church? How is that even possible?

The deeper I dug into the word of God on the matter the more fascinating were the things I uncovered. Things we seem to have forgotten about. But things I believe the Lord wants us to remember so that He can again pour out His blessing on His people. For the very things we rob Him of are the very things He wants to bless us with.

The death of Jesus on the cross put an end to the need for sin offerings. But sin offerings were not the only thing that the Lord's people brought into the Temple of God. There were many other types of offerings that were not for sins. But not all that was brought into the temple - was for the temple. God used some of the things that came into the Temple for other purposes - very important purposes.

One of the treasures I unearthed as I not only dug deep into the word but also deep into my own preconceived notions, was the understanding that while these days there is a tendency to call it the "collection", offerings were never about collecting. They were not about "pooling our resources". Rather they have always been about sharing and distribution of our resources. God does not eat meat, fruit, vegetables, or grains. Nor does He drink the fruit of the vine. Of what use is gold and precious stones to the one who already owns everything? The offerings were received by God, but not for Himself. He shared them and distributed them among His "dependants"

The tribe of Levi were not apportioned any land among the tribes of Israel by which they could support themselves. They were set apart by God as His servants and the offerings from their fellow Israelites were to feed and clothe and care for those who had foregone personal material gain and possessions in order to devote their time and energy, indeed their entire lives, to serving the God of Israel and His people.

Numbers 18:23-25 (NIV) It is the Levites who are to do the work at the tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for any offenses they commit against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites. 24 Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord. That is why I said concerning them: ‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’”

But the Levites were not the only ones in Israel that did not have the means to feed and clothe themselves. There were the, the widows, the fatherless, and the destitute from other lands who sought refuge among them. The offerings were to feed and clothe and care for them also.

There was one more surprising discovery I made. We speak often of the "tithe" as a standard of offering to attain or exceed. But the truth is the tithe is not an offering at all. It is not a mark of our generosity, it is an expectation of our duty. In reality the tithe is that part of our increase (income) that belongs to the Lord. We do not offer the tithe - we surrender it to the Lord who already owns it. Our generosity begins with anything we give beyond tithing.

"A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord." (Leviticus 27:30)

But it does not end there because the tithe did not belong to the Temple or its keepers, it belonged to God Himself. It was to be placed in HIS "storehouse" and used for a specific purpose. The tithe was to feed, clothe, and care for not only the Levites themselves whose only inheritence was the Lord, but also the fatherless, the widow, and the foreigners in need among them. These people had no families to look to for help, no lands to support them, they had only the Lord Himself as their provider. And the Lord looked to His people to ensure that a tenth of all He had blessed THEM with would be in His storehouse to provide for those among His people who had no provider but the Lord Himself.

Deuteronomy 26:12 When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.

The tithe was to ensure that ALL God's people and those who dwelt among them in His Promised Land were EQUALLY blessed. It is not by accident that the tribe of Levi plus the foreigners in need, the fatherless and the widows represented about one tenth of the population of Israel meaning the tithe produced one share that was about equal to all the other shares. (For those who are into maths 100%-10% = one 90% share and 9x10% = one 90% share).

The Lord has not put any time limit on the promise of Malachi 3 to HIS people. I believe the Lord still issues this challenge to us today also. If we, His people, bring His full tithe into His warehouse and distribute it for that which HE intended it to be used, He will pour out such blessing on His people that all the world will see it and call us blessed of God.

Provided it is done freely and without charge

"Do We Rob God?" may be copied, used and distributed

(in its entirety only, including this notice)

by brothers and sisters in Christ

to the profit and glory of The Lord alone (ttpagoTLa)

By special permission of 

D.J. Ludlow copyright 2019

#smallgiftsministries #ttpagoTLa

Whats In A Name

It was Shakespeare who first penned that much loved and oft quoted line “What is in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” And yet people give an almost magical power to the name “Jesus” even though that is not the name He was actually known by. All the Apostles. His disciples and the first churches they established knew Him by His actual Hebrew name of Jeshua (also rendered as Joshua). Which is also His Prophesied name in Zechariah when he identifies Joshua as the one who bears the name of “the Branch” who is to come:- Zechariah 6:11-12 / AV 11 Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; 12 And speak unto him, saying, "Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:"
And yet today more than ever we find more and more people preaching and teaching, and believing that there is POWER “in the name of Jesus”. That, if we but ask/declare/command/demand/pray/believe/heal/etc. “in the name of Jesus” it must surely come to pass because we have uttered those magical words, “in the name of JESUS!!!!” But they forget those who will come to Jesus saying:-
“... have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I (Jesus) profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:22-23 / AV)
For not all who cry “Lord, Lord” shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven but only those who do the WILL of the Father:- Matthew 7:21 / AV 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. When the Bible tells us to ask "in the name of Yeshua"(Aka Jesus) it is not declaring there is power in the name “Jesus” (Or "Jeshua"). What it is saying is that we do these things as servants of Christ - by the AUTHORITY of Jesus - and not by our own authority. HOWEVER, to act by the authority of Jesus we must first BE servants of Jesus and HAVE His authority to do that which we are doing in HIS name. It must also be God’s will that we should do it. If a person is not a born again servant of Christ, has not been given authority by Jesus to do things in HIS name, or is not acting according to the will and command of God then the words "in the name of Jesus" are just words and nothing more. Not only are they of no effect but they can be dangerous to the one who thinks all you need is to utter the words "in the name of Jesus" as some in the Bible have already found out much to their dismay:- Acts 19:13-16 King James Version (KJV) 13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. 14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

------oo0oo-----

Provided it is done freely and without charge

"What's In A Name" may be copied, used and distributed

(in its entirety only, including this notice)

by brothers and sisters in Christ

to the profit and glory of The Lord alone (ttpagoTLa)

By special permission of 

D.J. Ludlow copyright 2019

#smallgiftsministries #ttpagoTLa

Because Easter is the Question to Your Answer

Because Easter is the Question to Your Answer:-

Video: "The Question"

The Impossible Conception

Available as a shareable image from my SGM download folders at:- https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_3ClonPVorvOVRzWlViOWhvTFU

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Everyday Christmas

Finally got my Roxio Photosuite program working again. Really good for creating this type of image file.

As with all my other SGM image files a full sized version of this one can be freely downloaded and used from my SGM download folders here:- https://drive.google.com/…/fol…/0B_3ClonPVorvOVRzWlViOWhvTFU

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Will You Enter Here

Now that I don't have to try and make it behave itself as an eBook file I can re-release my PDF format eBook "Will You Enter here?" It has an extra poem and some new pictures as well as a new front cover and other updates. I am quite pleased with the way the front cover turned out having wanted to create something that conveys the essence of the anthology in visual imagery.

As with all my eBooks a copy of the PDF file is freely downloadable from my SGM eBook folder here:-

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_3ClonPVorvY0Q2X1hBc1dGTUk

It contains the usual SGM permission notice and is a shareable SGM eBook.

As with all my anthologies the Title of the book is also the Tile of a poem that captures the essence of the anthology. This one is:-

WILL YOU ENTER HERE?

Will you enter here and spend time with me,

Between the sheets of the written word?

A private place of fresh-laundered poems.

Will you caress the flesh of a soul laid bare?

Feel the downy silk here,

And the scar tissue there?

Drink in the sight of a naked heart,

The rise and fall of its sensual beat.

Syncopate to the pattern of its complicated rhythms,

Shy not from an intimacy both rare and deep.

Let the sweet resonance join us a while,

Let's forget about form,

Let's forget about style.

For I seek not seduction with my intimate words,

But the pure warm joy of a sensual meeting

Of like hearts far apart

Briefly as one beating.

   D.J. Ludlow Copyright 2000.

I hope you enjoy it
D.J. Ludlow

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Small GIFTS Ministries Embraces The KISS Principle

It was quite thrilling to be able to create my own actual eBooks using a freely downloadable eBook creation package. Even the fact that updates meant that what worked one way before didn't work that way anymore did not dampen my enthusiasm. It just meant my next eBook was going to take a bit longer to produce as I tried to figure out the new way of doing things.

It wasn't until I realised how much time and energy it was taking to produce a single eBook, and how much time and energy I did not have that I finally asked myself - why am I creating eBook files when most eBook readers read PDF files just as easily? And PDF files are much, much, easier, simpler and quicker to create. What's more they are readable on just about everything - and are eminently printable.

In fact the main benefit of the eBook specific formats appears to be the ability to control their distribution to ensure pirate copies are not easy to produce, thereby ensuring payment for each copy. Not exactly a high priority for a ministry that encourages the free copying, distribution and sharing of material.

So for the moment my own SGM will be embracing the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) and producing my future eBooks in simple PDF file format for ease of download, distribution and use. Which means .......

The one I have been trying to get to behave itself for a while now, will be available very shortly.

Hope you like it.
D.J. Ludlow

Freedom Is Freedom Is It Not

I note that when it was all about gender freedom the push to have Same Sex Marriage changes rushed in with as little debate and discussion as possible was immense.

But now the issue has become about protecting religious freedom those who had their foot pressed to the floor on the accelerator now have their foot firmly to the floor on the brakes.

BUT a tolerant society is one in which you have the freedom to have and express a different opinion or belief. An intolerant society is one in which your right to disagree or believe differently is suppressed.

If love is love then surely freedom is freedom is it not?

Fruit Picking

A full size copy of this Small GIFTS Ministries image, and many more, is freely downloadable from my Shareable Images folder here:- https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_3ClonPVorvOVRzWlViOWhvTFU

Fully a Man

Ever had those moments when you are reading and suddenly a door opens in your mind and you suddenly find yourself looking at the same scene through an entirely new window. That's how this article started.

I was quietly reading Ravi Zacharias' excellent book "The Grand Weaver (2007) when on page 40 I read:-

"One fascinating verse tells us that the author of our salvation himself has been made 'perfect through suffering' (Hebrews 2:10). I have often pondered this text. How is One who is already perfect, perfected."

I looked up, and a door opened .....

We talk often about Jesus being fully God and fully man and what we say is indeed true. But do we really ponder everything that entails? Jesus was well versed at being fully God. However when He was born of the virgin Mary that was the first time ever that Jesus had experienced being fully man!  He was the ONLY - begotten - Son of God . Not only that, but being the only Son of God to be begotten of the flesh nobody else in Heaven knew what it was like either. Everything Jesus experienced in the flesh He was experiencing for the very first time. Pain, exhaustion, hunger, thirst, the emotional havoc of hormones, the weakness of the human body, ... the reality of mortality and the ability to die or be killed. We forget that this was all a new personal experience for Jesus. He who is God was now learning firsthand what it was like to be human. But even more, not just what it was like to be man but what it was like to be A man.

I must admit that I had never before wondered why it was Moses and Elijah who met with Jesus on the mountain and not mighty angels like Gabriel or Michael. But now I think I understand perhaps why. Jesus was soon to face, as a man, great temptations, pain and suffering, and death. Neither Gabriel, nor Michael nor any Angel knew what it was like to face such things as a mere mortal man ..... But Moses and Elijah did!

However I had before wondered what it was in the Garden of Gethsemane that would so distress the Son of the Almighty God that He would sweat as if sweating blood and utter such soul wrenching prayers and pleas. And wondered also when He said "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" was He talking of His sleeping disciples .... Or of Himself? Jesus was about to endure such, pain, agony, and torment as none in Heaven ever had, and about to taste what no immortal being tastes - death! His soul was willing but would His flesh be able to endure to the end? He who had never suffered pain or death was about to suffer and endure the most horrific, painful, agonising death imaginable ... For the very first and last time.

For as the Son of God, and as the Son of man, Jesus had no more, and no less than any man has - the promises of His Father in Heaven. All that He set aside in Heaven, and all that He endured on Earth, He did solely on the promise of enablement, resurrection and restoration given by His Father in Heaven. Jesus asks of every man and woman no more than what He has been willing to do Himself. To set their selves aside by faith and relying solely on the promises of God be obedient to Him in all things.

And being obedient even to death in both spirit  and in the flesh Jesus was made perfect as both Son of God and Son of Man. For as Son of God He had out of obedience, and by faith, surrendered equality to the Father and suffered to be made to become a little lower than the angels that He might experience and endure life and death in the flesh as a Son of Man. So that in His faithful suffering and obedience He might obtain perfection as the perfect Son of God AND the perfect Son of Man and in doing so be the perfect and worthy Saviour and Lord of both the Sons of Men and the Sons of God. The Lamb of God without blemish in either Spirit or flesh. For the perfect Son of God became the perfect Son of Man in order that in Him the imperfect Sons of men might become the perfect Sons of God.

D.J. Ludlow

Author

Provided it is done freely and without charge

"Fully a Man" may be copied, used and distributed

(in its entirety only, including this notice)

by brothers and sisters in Christ

to the profit and glory of The Lord alone (ttpagoTLa)

By special permission of 

D.J. Ludlow copyright 2017

#smallgiftsministries #ttpagoTLa