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I want to say upfront that I LOVE Pope Francis. He is refreshing, honest, compassionate, caring and I have a feeling that he might just freak out the Roman Catholic hierarchy a bit.  You know, maybe keep them on their toes by doing things that previous Popes didn’t do – like walk around the streets chatting with people, catching a bus and paying for his own hotel room. The cheeky side of me kinda likes this.

So it was with interest this week that I read his interview with an old friend who was writing for the Argentine magazine Viva, in which he outlined 10 tips for a happy life.  We’d do well to embrace them:

1. Live and let live. He used an Italian expression that roughly translates as “move forward and let others do the same.”  It’s an echo of the Pope’s earlier remark on gays: “Who am I to judge?”  It’s what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”

2. Be open and generous. “Be giving to yourself and others” because “if you withdraw into yourself, you run the risk of becoming egocentric. And stagnant water becomes putrid.”  It’s like the Dead Sea; it’s dead because it only takes in and doesn’t give out!

3. Proceed calmly through life. The Pope quotes from a favourite novel by an early 20th-century Argentine writer, Ricardo Guiraldes, in which the novelist writes that in one’s youth, a person is “a rocky stream that runs over everything,” but as one gets older, one becomes “a running river, quietly peaceful.” How true!

4. Enjoy leisure. The Pope says that consumerism has brought with it unbearable anxieties. So play with your children. Take time off. And don’t spend all your time thinking about what you need to do next.  This needs to include switching off technology – including the TV – and enjoying time with family and friends. Social networking means that so often we are together alone! Get out the board games, enjoy great conversations and really get to know others!

5. Sunday is for families. Of course with the way our society is geared Sunday is a workday for many.  But the sentiment here is that once a week we should have a day that restores the mind, body and spirit and gives time to those who are most precious to us.

6. Find jobs for young people. When God created the first humans He gave them work to do. I’ve only experienced unemployment for a few weeks in my life but they were not happy weeks.  I love working as I find great satisfaction in what I do, especially helping others and hard work makes leisure time more meaningful. Pope Francis said, “We need to be creative with young people. If they have no opportunities they will get into drugs” and then be at a greater risk of suicide.

7. Take more care of nature. He said, “I think a question that we’re not asking ourselves is: isn’t humanity committing suicide with this indiscriminate and tyrannical use of nature.” As mentioned above, when God made people He gave them responsibility for creation.  We live on a finite planet that should be respected not just indiscriminately consumed!

8. Let go of negative thoughts quickly. He urged people not to be negative. “Needing to talk badly about others indicates low self-esteem. That means ‘I feel so low that instead of picking myself up I have to cut others down’.” The Bible condemns gossip and criticism and encourages us to deal well with conflict: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).

9. Respect each other’s beliefs and not to try and convert others to our way of thinking.  He says, “The worst thing of all is religious proselytism, which paralyses: “I am talking with you in order to persuade you.” The church grows by attraction, not proselytizing.”  I almost agree with where he is coming from here.  I think it’s vital that we Christians respect the beliefs of others and that we are not guilty of loving people “with hooks,” that is, becoming their friend simply to see them convert to our faith.  But I’m also very aware of the Bible’s teaching on sharing the Good News with others in order to see them forgiven and brought into a relationship with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

10. Work hard for peace. The Pope has preached this message from the beginning of his time as pontiff. He has gone to Jerusalem and worked to bring together Jews and Palestinians. He has prayed for peace and worked for peace. He has listened closely to Jesus, who said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” He says, “The call for peace must be shouted. Peace sometimes gives the impression of being quiet, but it is never quiet, peace is always proactive.”

Author Jay Parini summarises Pope Francis’ teaching as follows: “[He] has, in this unlikely venue, given us his own Sermon on the Mount, his Ten Commandments for happiness and inner peace. One can only be grateful for his wisdom, which is rooted in a sincere faith, in hard-earned wisdom, and a very practical knowledge of human needs and potentials.”

I came across an article this week that was published in Psychology Today a while ago. The article highlighted the psychological benefits of having faith. Despite the many voices around today that would decry the importance of religious faith, it is still thriving in many parts of the world – including Australia. One reason for this is that faith is actually good for our physical and psychological health. Psychology Today suggests four main ways this takes place:

1. Faith is a source of hope and optimism
Research in psychology indicates that positive attitudes are good for our health. For example, people who are optimistic about their chances of recovery from major diseases tend to better adhere to medical treatment plans, be less bothered by disease symptoms and have better recovery rates. For many people, their faith is a major source of hope and optimism.

2. Faith promotes feelings of belonging
We humans are social creatures and so meeting our need to belong is good for us. In a world that is leading to increasing isolation through an addiction to so-called “social” media, belonging to a community of people has never been more important. Conversation, prayer, laughter, empathy, hugs and serving are all benefits of belonging.

3. Faith can boost self-esteem
Like optimism, self-esteem has been shown to be a predictor of good physical health. We gain self-esteem from feeling as if we are people of value. Faith can offer a particularly potent and resilient sense of self-worth because God, like a good parent, loves and values us no matter what we do. Many sources of self-esteem (like beauty, success and popularity) are not so reliable.

4. Faith provides answers to many of life’s questions
As intellectual and self-aware creatures, we humans are uniquely able to ask questions like, “Where did I come from?” “Why am I here?” “What is the meaning of life?” “What happens to me when I die?” For people of faith it is not satisfying to accept the possibility that human existence is by chance and people are no more significant or enduring than any other organism. Faith offers meaning, purpose and hope in this life as well as the life to come.

Of course anything good can be counterfeited and so some people, whose faith becomes misguided by being involved with false cults, can experience the “bad side of faith.” But as long as faith is placed in a loving God and expressed in a healthy community of believers, it adds an amazing dimension to life. Jesus referred to it as “abundant life” and expressed clearly that this was His main mission, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). If you haven’t put your faith in Jesus, why not do it now?

I’m sitting in my sister’s lounge room in Perth having received word yesterday (Tuesday 3rd June) that my mum is in her final days of life.  For the last several years she has been steadily going downhill because of vascular dementia.  We went to see mum this morning.  It was good to have a chat with her – although it was brief and she’s really not sure who I am.  I played an old song to her on my iPhone and she enjoyed singing along to it but then she drifted off to sleep again.  I’m not sure how long she has left but I pray she doesn’t linger long like this.

Seeing my dear mum like this reminded me of an article I read a while ago by Bronnie Ware who worked for many years in palliative care. Her patients were those who had gone home to die and Bronnie had some incredibly special times as she was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives.

Bronnie observes, “People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.”

In their final weeks Bronnie questioned her patients about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five as reported by Bronnie Ware in her blog “Regrets of the Dying” http://bronnieware.com/regrets-of-the-dying/

  1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

  1. I wish I didn’t work so hard.

This came from every male patient that Bronnie nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men she nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

  1. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.

  1. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

  1. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to themselves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.  When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.

Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.

Based on her blog, Bronnie has now released a full-length book titled The Top Five Regrets of the Dying – A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing. It is a memoir of her own life and how it was transformed through the regrets of the dying people she cared for. You may like to read the book or at least spend some time thinking about the top five regrets of the dying and then make a choice to live the rest of your life so that these things don’t become regrets for you when your life is nearly over.

I would count well-known British atheist Richard Dawkins amongst the least likely of all people to be a promoter of real Christianity.  After all, he was the man who, earlier this year, described religion as a “cop-out.”  He went on to say, “It is a betrayal of the intellect, a betrayal of all that’s best about what makes us human.  It’s a phony substitute for an explanation, which seems to answer the question until you examine it and realise that it does no such thing … It peddles false explanations where real explanations could have been offered, false explanations that get in the way of the enterprise of discovering real explanations.”

In the light of this I find it interesting that, while speaking at a literature festival in Wales this week, professor Dawkins admitted that while he surely doesn’t believe in the supernatural elements of Christianity, he wouldn’t mind being called “a secular Christian.”

Dawkins was responding to an American Christian minister, who was part of the audience and told the 73-year-old evolutionary biologist that he doesn’t believe in miracles any longer but still sees himself as a Christian.  I am fascinated by Richard Dawkin’s response: “But if you don’t have the supernatural, it’s not clear to me why you would call yourself a minister.”

I find it fascinating because, of all the voices God could have used to bring correction to this “Christian Minister,” He used one of the world’s most well known atheists.  Richard Dawkins, who doesn’t believe in God or the supernatural world, recognises enough about real Christianity to know that, by its very nature, if it were true, it would have to be supernatural.  Let’s face it, the entire Christian faith hangs on the belief that God raised Jesus from the dead after he had been dead for three days.

And further to that the Bible is absolutely jam-packed with miracles from start to finish – from the creation of the world through to the parting of the Red Sea through to all the miracles of the prophets and Jesus and the first century church.  In fact the apostle Paul didn’t consider that he had fully preached the gospel unless miracles were present: “… in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ” (Romans 15:19).

And miracles are still active in churches and in the lives of Christians today.  Even last Sunday morning, as we were praying for people at Bayside Church, I went and laid hands on one of the guys who had come forward for prayer.  I felt God’s power flow through me into him.  The next day he sent me this note of Facebook:

Hi Ps Rob, thank you for standing with me yesterday, I was standing for my mother who is in hospital with congestive heart failure and some internal bleeding.   I was waiting word from the doctor regarding my return home to see her and felt the need to stand and pray for her.  
I received word today that her heart is strong, the bleeding has all but stopped and the swelling in her legs is gone (it has been years since we have seen her ankles).  She should be released from the hospital later this week. 
  Praise God!  Thank you for standing in agreement with me yesterday, I told my mum about it when we spoke yesterday and she asked me this morning to send her thanks to you for your prayers.  She is a big believer in the power of prayer.

And this is just one example of the many miracles that we see and hear about in our church community on a regular basis.

I thank God for His miracle-working power that is still at work in people’s lives today, and one of the miracles I’ve experienced this week is that, for once, I actually find myself agreeing with Richard Dawkins: “But if you don’t have the supernatural, it’s not clear to me why you would call yourself a minister.”  Spot on professor!

Let’s be honest, while there are some good reasons for leaving a church, there are a lot more bad ones. As a pastor, I hear some of them every now and again. Here are five really bad reasons to leave a Church:

1. “I’m not being fed”

As a pastor with a teaching gift I take my job of feeding God’s people VERY seriously. But there are also lots of other things vying for my time: managing staff, meeting needs, putting out fires and developing leaders – all while overseeing the overall vision and direction of the church. Years ago a man in our church had a vision. He saw adults sitting in baby highchairs with a dummy in their mouth. God showed him that many Christians are like that – big babies who still cry every time they want someone else to feed them.

To leave a church because you’re not getting “enough” is a cop out. Your primary call in the church is to contribute, not just to consume. As a Christian, you shouldn’t require spoon-feeding for the rest of your life. Eventually you need to learn how to feed yourself so that, in time, you can actually feed others. Remember, your call is not just to be a disciple but also to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20)

2. “It’s getting too big”

I can appreciate the sense of loss that accompanies growth. When Bayside Church began 22 years ago we were a small band of Christians who could all fit into one living room. It feels very different now that we are a large church spread across multiple services & sites. There are moments when I miss the intimacy and simplicity of those early days. But remaining small is a sad and unbiblical goal.

When churches are faithful to the Great Commission, lives will be changed and people will be added to their number. Growth is inevitable for faithful and healthy churches. If you have a problem with big churches, you really wouldn’t have liked the first church, and you definitely won’t like heaven.  Instead of seeing size as a negative, learn to appreciate all the variety and influence that a big church can achieve.

3. “I don’t agree with everything that is being preached”

Guess what? Neither do I and I’m the pastor. As such I fully reserve the right to disagree with myself. And every now and then I do exactly that, because I’m learning, growing & asking questions, and my hope is that you are doing the same. I trust the pulpit at Bayside Church to our team members & visiting ministries and I don’t always agree with everything that is said or the way they say it but, unless it is rank heresy, I just let it slide because we’re all learning and growing together.

Chances are you are not going to agree with everything that is preached anywhere. We need to learn to disagree on secondary issues.

4. “My Needs Aren’t Being Met”

People who use this as an excuse to leave a church have bought into the lie that, when it comes to church, it’s really all about “me.” Here’s the problem: the Church actually isn’t about you. It’s about Jesus. It’s His Church. He came for it. He died for it. He redeemed it. He continues to build it. And one day, He’ll come back for it. It’s His.

This is the same Jesus who came to seek and to save the lost and then commissioned his Church to go and do the same. The Church doesn’t just exist to meet your needs. You are a part of the Church that exists to meet the needs of the others. Put away the shopping trolley and pick up a shovel!

5. Unresolved Conflict

This is the number one reason people leave a church and of course wherever you find imperfect people you will find conflict. The Church is one big family full of characters and misfits. Sometimes sisters argue and brothers fight. But despite it all, family is supposed to be the place where you stick together even when it’s hard – especially when it’s hard.

Paul addressed a lot of church conflict in his letters. Nowhere do we hear him encouraging believers to bail on one another or move on down the road to a different church where it’ll be easier. Instead, much of his letters are his encouraging and coaching these ragamuffin communities in how to do this very hard and messy thing together.

One of the key aspects of the gospel is forgiveness and reconciliation. How will we ever demonstrate these things to the world if we don’t practice them ourselves?

Based on an article written by Aaron Loy in Relevant Magazine

The prophecy of Malachi is the last book in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is God’s last word before His last Word – Jesus.

In this short prophecy Malachi points out a number of ways in which the lives of His people were displeasing to God:

  1. They were marrying wives outside the community, thus introducing ideas that were contradictory to Judaism.
  2. They were divorcing their ageing wives so that they could marry younger ones (2:10-11)
  3. They were being careless in their offerings (1:6-2:9)
  4. They were failing to pay their tithes (3:8-10)
  5. They were being neglectful towards the poor (3:5)

Overall things were not good. And so God sends Israel a messenger to remind them of His love, grace and expectations (like any good parent).

The prophecy is set out as a series of questions and answers. For example, in Malachi 3 God challenges His people to return to Him. The people ask, ‘how are we to return?’ It’s a fair question that receives an interesting answer. I mean, if you asked me how you were to return to God I’d suggest things like repentance, prayer, studying the Bible, and being connected to a good church. But God addresses their giving – or rather their lack of it.

The same happened when people came and asked John the Baptist about how they could get right with/return to God (see Luke 3:7-14). No one asked him about money and yet the three answers he gave all addressed the people’s attitude to money – including giving, greed, contentment and sharing.

When the people of Malachi’s day asked the question, ‘how are we to return?’  God answers with another question, “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.”

That’s the problem, now for the solution:“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.”

The remedy for spiritual drifting was for the entire community to recognize their responsibility. The WHOLE nation was to bring the WHOLE tithe. This was something the WHOLE community was to do, “that there may be food in my house.”  When they all did this the WHOLE community would be blessed.

God throws out the challenge, “test me in this.” The Hebrew word for test, Bachan, refers to the testing of metals to see how valuable they are. God is challenging His people: you be generous with your tithes and offerings to me and my work and see how valuable I will be to you in return. I will “throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”

In Scripture, the phrase the floodgates of heaven is used in relation to Noah’s flood (Genesis 7:11; 8:2) and the supply of Manna for Israel in the desert (Psalm 78:23-24). Both are acts of abundance.

And so to apply this prophecy to the New Testament church: bringing the whole tithe, in addition to offerings, is the responsibility of all believers in order to make sure the Church community that they are part of is fully provided for, healthy & effective in outworking the vision God has given it. In return, God promises to abundantly bless and protect that community to such an extent that even those outside the community will take note.

Being part of a church community is an enormous blessing, and every blessing carries with it responsibilities. I encourage you to take the responsibilities of tithing, generosity and giving offerings seriously. You won’t be disappointed!

A couple of weeks ago someone from our church posted a John Wimber quote on my Facebook page. Wimber wrote, “I’m concerned the Church has become more of a theatre experience, rather than a meeting place for people to encounter & interact with God. People don’t need more entertainment; they need to encounter the King.”

It’s a great quote, and I certainly agree with the sentiment of it, but I felt there was a reason this man posted the quote – a reason that was more than it being just a great quote. I asked him and I was right. He said he came across the quote when I was promoting our recent Good Friday service and it appeared to him that the service could perhaps contain entertainment.

All of this got me thinking about the question “Is it wrong for the church to entertain people?” Before I give my thoughts on this let me say that I agree with John Wimber in that entertainment is not the church’s purpose or goal.  He was observing a phenomena that was rising in his day when the church was becoming increasingly a “theatre” experience that was more seeker-sensitive than Spirit-sensitive. I believe the main reasons we are to gather are to encounter God, grow deeper in our relationship with Him as well as to strengthen our relationships with each other.

But is it wrong to entertain people in the process of achieving these goals? Are they mutually exclusive? If we entertain people do they not encounter God? Can people only encounter and interact with the King if they are not entertained?

For answers to these questions we need look no further than the way Jesus taught as well as the content of the Bible. The vast majority of Jesus’ teaching was in story form (Parables). Telling stories was the primary entertainment of the masses in Jesus’ time. After a long discourse (recorded in Mark 12) that contained stories, an amazing answer to religious leaders who were trying to trap Jesus, and then a blunt rebuke to one of the leading religious sects (the Sadducees) the people were enthralled.  Mark says, “The large crowd listened to him with delight” (Mark 12:37). Were they entertained? Absolutely! They were rapt. Their emotions were stirred. I can hear them whooping and cheering. Jesus entertained people and, while they were engaged, they encountered and interacted with God.

The Bible is full of language and writing that entertains people – there’s history, poetry, stories, drama, suspense, hyperbole, miracles, sinister plots (think Haman and Esther), proverbs, songs, fantasy, humor and a whole lot more. God could have given us a two-sided A4 page with “Things to do” on one side and “Things not to do” on the other, but instead He gave us a book that engages and entertains the imagination and enables us to encounter Him on every page.

Unfortunately many churches today see life in black and white and shades of grey. What a shame when the very nature of God in creation is so full of colour and entertainment that engages our senses. See the incredible variety of animals and plants, taste the amazing foods, smell the aromas of coffee & freshly baked bread, hear the sounds of birds singing their song, let sand run through your fingers on a warm day. God’s creation entertains and engages us and through it we can encounter Him. Should not the church gathering reflect these same qualities? I love encountering God in our church and all of the ingredients of our services make this possible.

In Jesus’ day people were entertained by stories. Today telling stories is still a big way of engaging people and communicating truth. In Today’s society however, we are blessed with technology. We can communicate, engage and yes, entertain people through film, social media, drama, dance, music, lights, pictures, artwork and so much more. In an age where the adult attention span has reduced to an average of six minutes I believe that entertaining people is even more important because if they tune out how will we communicate life-changing truth?

Is it wrong for the church to entertain people? Not at all!

I love the perspective that children have on things.  Check out these comments from some kids when they were asked what happened on Good Friday?  And why did Jesus have to die?

“Jesus had to die because the Prime Minister didn’t like him. He didn’t like him because everybody liked Jesus and nobody liked the Prime Minister. At Easter, we have eggs because chickens are born at Easter time” (Bella, 7).

“We have chocolate eggs to celebrate Easter because the tomb was empty and most eggs are hollow, except when they have chocolate buttons in them” (Piers, 8).

“Jesus died because of God’s love and at Easter time we have eggs because they are a sign of new life. They’re made of chocolate because chocolate is really nice and Jesus was a really kind person” (Molly, 8).

What did happen on Good Friday?  And why did Jesus have to die? If Jesus died on this day then why is it called GOOD?

It’s important to know that it was, in fact, religion that killed Jesus.  The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were jealous of the support and following that Jesus had and so they plotted a way to get rid of him – and they succeeded (for three days!)  Not much has changed; religion is still trying to kill Jesus today.  In fact, some religious institutions kill Jesus every week – some kill him every year.

This is highlighted in a response to a blog I wrote over a year ago.  Speaking of Good Friday the person wrote:“This is the day of the year that I wish would end quickly for it is a day of mourning and grief. Every minute of this day I am constantly thinking about His suffering. We call this day good only because of ourselves. We are to die with Him on this day … on this day of remembrance, mourning, and grief, are we not going to remember, mourn, and grieve? Sadly, for most people they will not remember, they will not mourn, and they will not grieve … on this day of sadness, I hope the Lord keeps me a little more subdued and a little more humble. For Christ died on this day of darkness and I am grieving a bit now…”

But what does the Bible say about Jesus sacrifice?
Hebrews 7:27, “Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.”

Hebrews 9:26, “Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

Hebrews 9:28, “so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

Hebrews 10:10, “And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Get the message?

Jesus doesn’t need to die again every week or every year.  His death on the cross two thousand years ago was enough.  On the cross, Jesus took the punishment that belonged to us.  We are the ones who have broken God’s Law.  We deserved to be punished.  But in his love and mercy, Jesus bore our punishment for us. The sacrifice he made was enough and to prove that is was, three days later God raised Jesus from the dead – and he didn’t die again.  That’s why Good Friday is GOOD!

My prayer for you this Easter is that you will come to know, appreciate and experience the power and value of the sacrifice Jesus has made for you on the cross.

Some years ago, a 14-foot bronze crucifix was stolen from Calvary Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas. It had stood at the entrance to that cemetery for more than 50 years. The cross was put there in 1930 by a Catholic bishop and had been valued at the time at $10,000. The thieves apparently cut it off at its base and hauled it off in a pick-up. Police speculate that they cut it into small pieces and sold it for scrap for about $450.  They obviously didn’t realize the value of that cross.  May we not be so blind!

 

Money, especially the giving of it, is one of the most often-mentioned topics in the Bible. It is also one of the most controversial and likely to provoke a response, which is often a negative one. Many years ago I attended a Christian financial seminar in which the speaker presented some simple but powerful truths about handling money. I have put his “two basic rules” into practice ever since: (1) Spend less than you earn; (2) Tithe on the first fruits on all your increase.

Tithing is the Biblical principle of giving one-tenth of all our increase, income or possessions to the Lord, so that His work can be accomplished in the world (tithe = tenth). About tithing Dr. Billy Graham wrote, “God’s blessing upon the nine-tenths helps it to go further than the ten-tenths without His blessing!”

The most frequent objection to tithing is that it’s part of the Old Testament Law that doesn’t apply to Christians today. I’ve found that this statement is often used as an excuse not to tithe. But tithing predates the law. The first mention of tithing in the Bible is Genesis 14:18-20 in which Abraham willingly gave King Melchizedek 10% of all his increase. Where did Abraham learn this principle? Did he just pluck 10% out of thin air, or was he privately instructed by God on a universal principle of life? I would suggest the latter because God later included the tithing principle in the Law of Moses. The final mention of tithing in the Bible (Hebrews 7) refers back to the first mention – to the story of Abraham and Melchizedek. Here the writer relates this mysterious King- Priest to Jesus the eternal King-Priest. As Abraham willingly paid tithes to Melchizedek we willingly pay tithes to Jesus.

It should also be said that Old Testament truth is still applicable to us today unless the New Testament presents truth that supersedes it. For example, Jesus cancelled the Old Testament food rules in Mark 7:17-19, but did not present truth, which superseded tithing. In fact He endorsed it. Have a read of Luke 11:42 & Matthew 23:23.

The New Testament actually increases the conditions of the law (read Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” in which He increased the definition of murder and adultery amongst other things). If a tenth was required under the law, no less than a tenth is required under grace.

What God taught Abraham about tithing was adopted 400 years later in the Law. The Law of Moses presents truth on tithing that, if implemented today, gives excellent advice on giving and saving. Under the Law there were three tithes:

  1. The Lord’s tithe: 10% of gross income that went to support the priesthood and temple (Numbers 18:21).
  2. The Family tithe: the next 10% that was saved for the future support of the family (Deuteronomy 14:22-27).
  3. The Poor tithe: every third family tithe was given to the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).

It’s fascinating to note that 4% of the American population today is Jewish and yet they own 40% of the wealth; the reason being that many of them follow these principles. Revivalist John Wesley put it this way, “make as much as you can, save as much as you can, give as much as you can.”

Another question people ask about tithing is, “should I tithe on my gross or net income?” Jesus often answered a question with a question so I’ll follow in His footsteps: are you looking for a way of giving more or less to God? I have always made it a practice to tithe on my gross income because I believe it is the right thing to do. In any case this is only a question because of our taxation system. Until just over a hundred years ago people were paid their full wage and were then responsible for paying their tax. It’s still this way in some countries today. The question that flows on from this then is “who should be paid first – God or government?”  Jesus said, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Mark 12:13-17). He also taught us to seek God’s Kingdom FIRST (Matthew 6:33). That leads onto the next question, how should I tithe? Three principles should be followed when tithing:

  1. The First: as mentioned above, we are to put God first in our giving, “honour the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase” (Proverbs 3:9). Throughout the Bible the first of anything was sacred to the Lord.
  2. The Best: in Old Testament times the people of Israel often fell into bad habits. One of those was to start giving to God lame, blind and imperfect animal sacrifices. This was as displeasing to God as an imperfect gift given as an afterthought would be to any of us. Lamb sacrifices were always to be a firstborn, unblemished male (Exodus 34:26; Numbers 18:12-13; Ezekiel 44:30). This flows through to God’s sacrifice for us in Jesus, the firstborn sinless Son. God gave His best for us, should we not offer Him the same out of pure appreciation and love?
  3. The Lot: out of any increase we receive we are to give a tithe to God first – salary, lump sum payments, inheritance, superannuation pay outs, gifts, holiday pay, share dividends, bonuses and so on. God calls us to honor Him with the first fruits of ALL our increase. Any less dishonors him.

Where should I give my tithe? As mentioned already, The Lord’s tithe (10% of gross income) went to support the priesthood and temple, “bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house”  (Malachi 3:10).  God expected His people to provide for His work that they and others would benefit from. Nothing has changed. In the New Testament Book of Acts people brought money and laid it at the apostles feet (Acts 4:34 – 5:2). The placement of the gift “at the apostles’ feet” was an indication that the money was for the work of the church and not meant to be a personal gift. Both the Old and New Testaments teach that God’s people have a duty to give to God’s work through the leaders He has placed over them (1 Cor. 9:9, 14; 1 Tim. 5:17-18). These leaders in turn will be called to account for the way they have distributed this finance in order to further God’s kingdom on earth.

Why should I give a tithe? We tithe out of gratitude for the past. “God, I realise that everything I’ve achieved up to this point, anything I have, all belongs to you anyway. I want to give 10% back to you as an act of gratitude.” We tithe to keep our priorities right in the present. Deuteronomy 14:23 says, “the purpose of tithing is to teach you to put God first” (TLB). It’s a reminder that God is really first in my life, and it helps me set my priorities.  We tithe as a statement of faith for the future. When I tithe I’m saying, “God, you’ve taken care of me in the past, so I trust you and I’m giving this to you as a demonstration of my faith that you will provide in the future.”

Tithing is a great floor but a lousy ceiling. Giving the first 10% of our increase to God’s work through our local church is a good place to begin, but this principle is meant to be freeing rather than restrictive. C.S. Lewis used to give away 2/3 of his income. R.G. LeTourneau (Mover of Men and Mountains) gave 90% of his. The more God blesses us the greater percentage we should give to him.  Finally, J.D. Rockefeller wrote, “I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week.”  It’s got to start somewhere and at sometime.  Why not start today?

One of the stories trending this week on Facebook concerns Fred Phelps, the founder of the highly controversial Westboro Baptist Church, who is said to be dying at a hospice center in Kansas.

The news originated from Nate Phelps one of Fred’s estranged children, who wrote this on Facebook a few days ago.

“I’ve learned that my father, Fred Phelps, Sr., pastor of the “God Hates Fags” Westboro Baptist Church, was ex-communicated from the “church” back in August of 2013. He is now on the edge of death at Midland Hospice house in Topeka, Kansas.”

The Westboro Baptist church was pioneered by Fred Phelps in Topeka, Kansas, in 1955. To this day the church remains small in numbers but big in impact because of its controversial statements and pickets – over 52,000 of them since the church began. Its websites include “God Hates Fags,” “God Hates America,” “God Hates Islam,” “Jews Killed Jesus,” and “Beast Obama.”  You get the idea. God’s pretty ticked off with just about everyone except the people at Westboro Baptist. There’s even a “God Hates the World” website which lists all the countries and why God particularly hates each one. The Westboro website includes a tally of the “people whom God has cast into hell since you loaded this page.”

The church has become particularly well known, and despised, for protesting at the funerals of high-profile people as well as American soldiers who’ve died in combat. A number of laws have been passed in order to keep these misguided “Christians” away from grieving friends and relatives.

As a Christian I have found the Westboro Baptist Church to be a great embarrassment over the years. I frequently find myself disappointed with their hate filled rants as well as all the media attention they receive. They present God in a way that only repels people away from a Creator who loves and cares for them. They will be remembered in history in the same category as those who misquoted the Bible to defend slavery (think “Twelve Years a Slave”), the subjugation of women, and the persecution of scientists.

So how should we respond to such a hateful man as Fred Phelps as his life draws to a conclusion? It would be easy to cheer and spew the same hate back at him that he and his family have dished out over the decades. After all, he’ll reap what he’s sown right? But does that reflect the teaching of Jesus? I think not. Jesus constantly encourages us to take the high road in our reactions towards those who mistreat us. He said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). In chapter 9 of his gospel, Luke recounts the story of a Samaritan village that rejected Jesus and His disciples. James and John asked Jesus, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” After all, God hates Samaritans!  Jesus “turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”

The apostle Paul picks up the Master’s teaching when writing to the Roman Christians, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse … do not repay anyone evil for evil … do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12).

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook last night, “Can you imagine what a powerful statement it would be if the LGBT community showered the Phelps family with love during Fred Phelps’ funeral?”  I replied, “Well said, that would be awesome to see and hear – unexpected, unpredictable and a whole lot better than spewing hate back at hate.” This guy suggested a response that takes the high road – a response that Jesus encourages us to choose. Is it easy? No, it’s difficult. But the world will never be a better place if we only fight fire with fire. There’s got to come a time when we stop firing hate, bullets, bombs and harsh words at one another.  Fred Phelps will pass away and there’ll be plenty of hate-filled people to take his place. We can’t stop them, but we can choose the higher road of love that Jesus taught us to take.

Jeremiah’s prophecy in the Hebrew Scriptures is pretty dark. It’s full of warnings to the Nation of Israel because of their ungodly behaviour. Like any good parent, God warns His kids when they’re going off track and let’s them know the consequences if they don’t change: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place…” (Jeremiah 7:3). But they didn’t listen or change their ways, so God disciplined them by taking them into exile into Babylon.

Jehoiachin, king of Judah, was captured by King Nebuchadnezzar and taken to Babylon, along with some 10,000 of Jerusalem’s principal citizens in 597 BC (see 2 Kings 24:12-16). There they stayed for 70 years. They settled down, built homes, grew in numbers and sought the prosperity of the city where they were in exile.

In Jeremiah 29, God gives some good news and hope to His people: This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

The Prophet Isaiah picks up the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy (almost 300 years before it happened) in Isaiah 43, “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? 
I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and owls, too, for giving them water in the desert.
Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland
 so my chosen people can be refreshed.”

This is a wonderful promise of God’s provision as He led His people back to their homeland. They would need to travel through the wilderness, the dry wasteland, the desert but this land would be transformed by God’s provision of refreshing water for His people.

What was prophesied over 2,700 years ago is still being fulfilled in Israel today. What God did supernaturally for Israel then, they now put into practice so that Israel has gained a worldwide reputation for its ability to turn barren desert into useful and arable land. They redirect floodwaters to desert areas, they use solar power, they have fish farms that thrive on brackish desert waters, and they plant trees and alternative crops that reverse desertification. It was Israel that developed modern drip irrigation now used by many nations, and 50% of water used in desert areas is recycled wastewater – higher than any other nation. Such ingenuity has reclaimed land that was once considered useless.

Click here to see some of the amazing things this nation has achieved:

The ingenuity that the people of Israel have demonstrated to turn sand into land can be employed by each of us in our everyday lives. What can you do this year to redeem areas in your life that you now consider unproductive, wasteful or dry? Use your God-given wisdom and refresh yourself and others in 2014!

I’ve heard many Christian people over the years – including preachers – talk about how God calls us to live a “selfless” life. But is that true? Is that what the Bible demands? I would like to suggest not.

It’s true that Jesus taught self-denial: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

The Bible also teaches self-control as one of the products of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives (see Galatians 5:23).

Neither of these things means that we are to be selfless though. In fact the Bible also teaches us to look after our own needs as well as the needs of our family. The apostle Paul was very blunt when he wrote, “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tim 5:8).
Paul hit the nail on the head when he was writing to the Macedonian Christians from prison: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4).

There it is – look after your own interests, just don’t stop there! And that’s the problem. Most people just look after their own interests. The Bible doesn’t teach against leading a selfless life, it teaches against living a selfish one. The Bible has much to say about having a good work ethic, being a good employer / employee, providing for your own needs. There’s nothing selfless about that. But we’re instructed to want more than enough. One of the most selfish statements I hear is, “I just want enough to get by.” Sometimes it’s said by people with a sense of pride like, “See how little I need. See how holy I am.” But God wants us to have more than enough to get by so that not only will our needs be met but we have some left over so that we can meet the needs of others. Consider this verse in 2 Corinthians 9 where the whole chapter (and the next one) deal exclusively with money: “Moreover, God has the power to provide you with every gracious gift in abundance, so that always in every way you will have all you need yourselves and be able to provide abundantly for every good cause …”

All you need yourselves AND be able to provide abundantly for every good cause. That’s not selfless and it’s not selfish either. Daniel Goleman put it this way in his book Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships, “Self-absorption in all its forms kills empathy, let alone compassion. When we focus on ourselves, our world contracts as our problems and preoccupations loom large. But when we focus on others, our world expands. Our own problems drift to the periphery of the mind and so seem smaller, and we increase our capacity for connection – or compassionate action.”

Much of the First World is embroiled in selfishness. Like Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky said, “I say let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea.” We may be shocked by such honesty but do our lives reflect anything different? In 1998 the United Nations put out a statement that if everyone in the developed world gave the cost of a cappuccino each week to combat world poverty we would be able to eradicate poverty completely. The fact that 14 years later poverty is still rife is testament to the fact that most people live selfishly. For just $4 per week poverty could be banished. It starts with you and me. Will you take the challenge? Don’t be selfless – but don’t be selfish either!