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\o/ \o/~~~~~~~~(((( Hidup oleh Roh, Dipimpin oleh Roh, Gal.5:25 ))))~~~~~~~\o/ \o/ From: "suyento" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Does a Christian have to
tithe?
Christians who want to please the Lord often have questions about tithing. The dictionary defines the word "tithe" as "a tenth part of something paid as a voluntary contribution or as a tax especially for the support of a religious establishment." It was a common practice in the Old Testament and required of members of the nation of Israel. Many Christians believe that this principle of giving one-tenth should be carried over to the New Testament in giving to the church and other Christian organizations. Mr. Graham would fit into that category. He has said, "We have found in our own home, as have thousands of others, that God's blessing upon the nine-tenths, when we tithe, helps it to go farther than ten-tenths without His blessing." However, even then the question as to whether to tithe from one's net or gross income is not answered in Scripture, nor is the question of whether to give it all to the local church or to include other ministries. We feel that such decisions should be based on personal conviction. Other Christians who tithe do so simply because they respect the Old Testament principle and find it a helpful place to begin in their giving. They do not believe, however, that tithing is a New Testament obligation. It is not mentioned in the New Testament except where it is describing Old Testament practices, or in the Gospels where Jesus is addressing people who were under the Old Testament law. Note Jesus' comments to the Pharisees in Luke 11:42. A New Testament teaching on giving which may be helpful to you is found in 1 Corinthians 16:2: "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income." This passage brings out four points: we should give
individually, regularly, methodically, and proportionately. The matter of your
giving is between you and God, and He always takes into account our
circumstances. He knows when they are beyond our power to direct and control.
The important thing is that we see giving as a privilege and not a burden. It
should not be out of a sense of duty, but rather out of love for the Lord and a
desire to see His kingdom advanced.
Second Corinthians 9:6-7 says: "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." The deeper question, you see, is this: What has priority in our lives? Is Christ really first -- or do we put ourselves and our own desires first? Make sure Christ is first in your life, and then ask Him to guide you. Taken from www.billygraham.org ======================================
From: "Heidy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Keeping Peace and Harmony
Alive in Your Small Group
Elaine Creasman Some groups I've attended disintegrated for one reason: unforgiveness How can you keep forgiveness flowing in your small group? Here are some principles to practice. 1. Go to the offender. Even seemingly trivial offenses can cause
resentment to build, as with the time a woman in my Bible study related to
others a small thing I had told her in confidence. In such a case, instead of
telling others what the "offender" did to me, I am learning to follow the
command of Mt. 18:15 : "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his
fault."
2. Send others to their offender. When someone says to me, "Let me tell you what Joe did," the first question
I ask is, "Have you discussed this with him?" Just listening to that person's
resentments can tempt me to start resenting Joe.
3. Handle offenses outside of meeting time. Unless the matter concerns everyone, it needs to be handled privately
before or after the meeting. If I get home and discover unforgiveness creeping
in, I telephone the person and gently say something like, "I felt hurt when you
... " I also call when I sense someone has been hurt by what I've said-as when
I've shown an ungracious, "I'm right, you're wrong" attitude. If handled
properly, it usually only takes a minute to deal with an offense.
4. Be quick to say you're sorry. If a person comes to me believing I've sinned
against him, I'm learning not to defend myself, even if I'm misunderstood or
feel I've done nothing wrong. This is especially important if the person is
angry. An angry person doesn't want to understand me; he wants justice. Saying
"I'm sorry if what I said hurt you; that wasn't my intention" can work wonders.
When the person cools down, we can discuss the matter further, if
necessary.
5. Stay humble. When I have a "search me, O God" attitude and am
determined to deal with my own faults, I'm not offended as easily. Remembering
the mercy God has shown me, I have compassion when others fail to live up to
godly standards. Staying humble involves embracing scriptural teachings such as
"do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult" (1 Pet. 3:9 ), "consider
others better than yourselves" (Phil. 2:3), and "let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5). Dealing with offenses promptly and letting forgiveness flow keeps peace and harmony alive in our small groups and pleases the Lord. Surfing yo Surfing ke RDSB.org ! webnya barusan di renov ! berkatnya makin komplit aja ! Daftar Member di RDSB.org heratis ! buat akses webmail, forum, MIDI dan masih banyak lahi ! Jangan lupa mampir juga ke http://tokobuku.rdsb.org, koleksinya langka, mutu dan manteb ! o)---------------------------( Milis ini didukung oleh I-KAN )--------------------------(o http://rdsb.org ; http://beritasorgawi.com ; http://ob.or.id ; http://revival.or.id Berhenti dari Milis : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Langganan Milis : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Administrasi & Teknis : [EMAIL PROTECTED] petunjuk nomail,mail,digest,gantiemail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Untuk info lebih lanjut kunjungi web kami di http://revival.or.id |
