About The Georgia post. (Knoxville, Crawford County, Ga.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (March 28, 2013)
PAGE 6 - THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013 What The Bible Says About Tithing Tithing is exclusively an Old Testament doctrine. Bible pas sages establishing the tithe are Leviticus 27:30-33, Numbers 18:21-28, Deuteronomy 14:22- 29, and 2 Chronicles 31:4-6 Other pertinent passages are Abraham offering Melchizedek a tenth of the spoils of war (Gen. 14: 20) and Jacob of fering God “a tenth of all thou giveth me.” (Gen. 28: 22). The Israelites were required year- after-year to give 10 percent of their farm animals and farm produce (grain, wine, olive oil, honey, etc.) to the Levites. The Levites were descendants of Ja cob’s son, Levi, who were set aside as members of the priest hood to perform special duties, first at the tabernacle in the wil derness and later at the temple in Jemsalem. Since the Levites received no land in the divi sion of Canaan, they depended solely upon the tithe for their livelihood. In turn, the Levites were required to give one tenth of the tithe they received (tithe of the tithe) to the high priests. Following destmction of the Je msalem temple by Rome in 70 A.D., the cessation of temple worship significantly reduced the role of the Levites, thus collection of the tithe in that context was no longer relevant. Modem day Jews, however, purchase annual memberships in the synagogue and contribute to charities. In contrast, nowhere does the New Testament compel Chris tians to comply with this legal istic tithe system. However, in the early Christian church at Jemsalem, a more stringent requirement was imposed: the possessors of houses and land were required to sell their prop erty to raise money to care for the widows and the poor. Be cause Ananias and Sapphira withheld some of the proceeds from a property sale and did not report it to the apostles distrib uting the money, they both were stricken dead. Although pastors often ap peal to the above Old Testament passages to advocate tithing, the logic of applying this anachro nistic Levite support system is debatable. In another sense, the tithe may be a scriptural para digm to follow. The Lord stated in Malachi 3.10: “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse and I will open the windows ofheaven and pour down for you an over flow blessing.” In contrast, the Apostle Paul, in raising money for the church at Corinth, used a different approach to giving: “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or imder com pulsion, for God loves a cheer ful giver.” While prosperous individuals can contribute more than 10 percent, the extreme poor, who must choose between paying the heating bill or buy ing medicine, are disadvantaged in tithing. Christians today are required Will The Easter Bunny JustHopAway... Please! I am what many people refer to as a purist. Many do not understand or know what a purist is, so let me explain. No, a purist is not a Puritan, although I have nothing against Puritans and lean heavily in their direction. After all, I think it is better to be radical in the right direction than radical in the wrong direction as many people are today. I think the Puritans are getting a bad rap today. A purist, however, is someone who likes things just the way they are. No additives. No upgrades. No unnecessary changes. If my light bulb goes out, I want to change. That is the limit for change except maybe some of it that jingles in my pocket. Have you ever noticed that once you are comfortable with a computer program and really like it, someone will upgrade it until it is a completely different program with no relationship to the one you love? I hate that. When you get something that works, do not try to fix it. That is one of the basic rules of life. It is a rule I have been trying to explain to the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage for years. I keep telling her I am not broken and therefore I do not need fixing. It has become the mission of her life to upgrade me. Can you imagine that? I love me the way I “are.” Some people are more like soup than anything else. Anything and everything goes into the pot. Not me. I like to savor something in its own environment. So, I am a purist in many regards, which can best be seen from my point of view in holidays. I like holidays but I do not like all of the upgrading and embellishments attached to every holiday you can think of except perhaps April 1. We know who celebrates that holiday. I would like to enjoy a holiday sometime without all of the extras. At Christmas time I want to celebrate the purpose of Christmas, I have no idea what a Santa Claus with reindeer, and Frosty the Snowman have to do with Christmas. This is rather confusing to me. What are we celebrating at Christmas? If you follow the commercials, you have no idea what holiday is being celebrated. For Easter, I would like to strip away all of the trappings, all ofthe hype andjust celebrate it for what it is. What do the Easter bunny and the Easter egg have to do with Easter? I would be open to having a holiday for the Easter bunny, another holiday for the Easter egg and if you want to get technical, a holiday for Santa Claus, one for Rudolph the red nose reindeer and a separate one for Frosty the Snowman. When you put it all together, it just is rather confusing to me. I know who is in charge of these holidays. A holiday is not to celebrate but rather a holiday is to make money. Some people, and I will not mention any names, have never seen a holiday they did not want to make a buck. Maybe every holiday should be called “Buck Day,” where we celebrate and honor the almighty dollar. One more holiday I would suggest is one with no commercials and no selling whatsoever. A holiday where you would be fined dearly if you bought anything. Aholiday from buying would suit me just fine. I know my critics will say that unless somebody buys something nobody makes anything. I have no problem with that. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a holiday where that kind of thing was not front and center? The value of the Easter bunny is how much money it can make for the person sponsoring the holiday. I have seen a very interesting thing and I just cannot quite explain it. Just before the Easter holiday and leading up to it, all the Easter candy is at Believing God We all believe in something. You and I can put our faith in our job, the amount of money we have, what we own, the people we know, and the list goes on. The problem goes on. The problem is, all of these have the ability to fail us. You and I need to believe in what cannot fail us...Jesus Christ. To believe means “to accept as true, to trust or to have faith in. Believing is a key ingredient necessary to receive the promises of God. You and I don’t have to beg God to forgive us or feed and clothe us or give us power over the enemy. All we need to do is believe these things are ours because God’s Word says they are ours. Believing God means that in every situation we face, we have faith that God is in control. It is believing Him over what our circumstances say, what others say, and what the devil says in our ears. We can call ourselves T Weekly Devotion By Angie Carr Columnist believers, have Christian bumper stickers on our car, wear a gold cross, wear long dresses, shout all over the church, carry a five pound bible or quote scriptures; but if we are worried from daylight till dark, we are not believing God. If you and I are truly believing God, we are not upset, we are not anxious, worried or fearful. That doesn’t necessarily mean everything is easy or that we are not hurting. It means that in spite of any situation we are in, we have a restful peace on the inside of us, knowing that God will work any and everything out. Be blessed! Martha Jeanette Turner Graveside services for Martha Jeanette Turner,64, of Rober ta, were held Friday, March 22, 2013 at New Haven Baptist Church Cemetery, Knoxville, GA. Jeanette passed away on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at Coliseum Medical Center. She was of the Baptist faith and was preceded in death by her parents, Lester Earl Childers and Ruby Harper Childers. Survivors include her son, Richard Turner of Roberta; daugh ter, Rhonda Childree of Butler; brother, Buck Childers of Butler; four sisters, Jewel Turner of Roberta, Frances Har mon of Butler, Ann Gamer of roberta, and Louise Bone of Butler; one grandson, Jeremy Childree of Reynolds. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: Agape Hospice, 3312 Northside Drive, Macon, GA 31210. You may sign the online guest register at www.mcleighton- funeralservice.com. Church Happenings Billy Powell Columnist www.billypowellbooks.com by law to pay taxes—federal, state, and special purpose— ranging from 30 to 50 percent of income. If one decides to tithe, should it be based on pre tax or after-tax dollars? Since a person’s pre-tax income is not legally his, giving based on gross or pre-tax income seems unreasonable. When the rich young ruler asked Jesus, “How do I inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “Sell all you have and give it to the poor.” Jesus praised the widow who dropped two small copper coins (worth about a penny) into the temple offer ing box, saying, “She gave all she had to live on.” Bottom line: the church and the cause of Christ must be supported not only by our money, but through our talents and our time. Out to Pastor Rev. James L. Snyder jamessnyder2@att.net or whatafellowship.com a premium price. Then, after Easter, this same Easter candy is at a hefty discount in the stores. What has changed? Could it be that the older something gets the less it is worth? Of course, I am beginning to feel that way myself, as I get older. (Thanks, Uncle Sam.) As a purist, I would like to celebrate a holiday for once without all of the rigmarole and shenanigans. A holiday where nobody will pester me. A holiday where I can shut out the world and enjoy the comforts of home and family. If I have not offended anybody up to now, let me take this a step further. It would be nice to have a holiday when all media would shut down. No television. No radio. No telephone or cell phone. No Internet. I know I am a radical, but I think it would be nice some time just to close out the world and remember the things that have value. Even Jesus understood this in his time. “And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat” (Mark 6:31KJV). Therefore, I would like all of these things to hop along let me enjoy the things that really have value to me before I simply come apart. Prayer Line, Tuesdays and Thursdays, Christ Abundant Life Ministries, S. Dugger Ave., Roberta. Call 478- 836-3912. Word of God Tabernacle invites you to join us for the following weekly services: Sunday Prayer at 9:00 a.m., Sunday School at 10:00 a.m., Sunday Service at 11:00 a.m.; Monday Prayer at 9:00 a.m.; Wednesday Prayer at 9:00 a.m., Wednesday Bible Study at 7:00 p.m.; Friday Prayer at 9:00 a.m. Everyone is invited. Pastor Frank Martin, Sr. Springhill Baptist Church is providing free Tutoring Service every Monday at 5:30- 6:30 p.m. 71, Springhill Church Rd., Roberta. Marriage Restored weekend is scheduled for April 12-14, 2013 in Macon, GA. Marriage Restored is a weekend program for couples who have experienced marriage- threatening circumstances and it is a weekend of hope for couples in crisis. All faiths are welcome. For more info visit the website at www.marriagerestored.com Gospel Meeting Revival: Knoxville GA Church of Christ. Guest speaker Daunae Permenter. Wednesday, March 27- Sunday, March 31, Wed-Fri 7:00 p.m., Sat. 6:00 p.m. and Sunday, Lord’s Day Worship at 10:30 a.m. Pineview Baptist Church will be celebrating their church anniversary the 1st Sunday in April (4/7/13) at 11:30 a.m. Orange Grove Baptist Church will host a Good Friday Service Friday March 29th at 7:30 p.m. Presenting the recorded statement from the cross climaxing with the spoken word from our special guest, Rev. Ricky Wright, pastor of Pleasant Grove Church in Musella. Easter Sunday morning a special Sun Rise service beginning at 7:00 a.m. with special guest Rev. Kenneth Oates, pastor of Pine Grove CME Church. Deadline for Church Happenings: Friday 5 p.m. McLeighton Funeral Service view obituaries at www.mcleightonfuneralservice.coin 375 S. Dugger Avenue Roberta, Georgia 478-836-3336 David & Donna McLeighton - owners ’Our Family Serving Your Family Granite • Marble • Bronze • Coping • Monument Cleaning • Sandblasting 33 Serving all Middle Georgia cemeteries 33 Kade E. Rooks P. O. Box 1711, Fort Valley, GA 31030 *478-825-2424 or 478-951-1571 *Fax: 478-825-3794
