Posting a JM photo just to test it out. (Why do I feel like a Macworld Live Blogger?)

Malachi 3:8-10

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

This scripture is probably used more than any other scripture to convince people to pay tithe than any other. However, based on what has been discussed already, the Bible student should know that this was directed to the people who were commanded to pay tithes. This command did not go any further then the Old Testament. The children of Israel in Malachi’s day were guilty of robbing God. They were the ones who were not putting the tithes in the storehouse as they did in Hezekiah’s day. There are no storehouses in the New Testament age because the payment of tithes is not required. If offerings are paid, they should be paid according to the model set for us by the Apostle Paul. This model will be discussed later.

 Luke 11:42

But woe unto you, Pharisees! For ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Luke 18:12

I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

Matthew 23:23

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

The above scriptures are used by the teachers of error to confirm that the paying of tithes is still a New Testament requirement. Jesus told the scribes and the Pharisees "not to leave the other undone." The other being the tithes. What the Bible student should consider is that the scribes and the Pharisees were still under the Law of Moses until the resurrection of Christ. Since the law requires the paying of tithes by the Jewish people, Jesus is simply stating that they should obey that injunction of the Law. The point being in the above passage that the scribes and Pharisees were willing to pay tithes in honor of the Law but left off what Jesus called the weightier matters. He expected the religious leaders of his day to be faithful to everything the Law requires instead of picking and choosing.

If the Church and its leadership are not supported by tithes, what is the New Testament standard for giving? The following scriptures should be considered.

What the Bible Teaches in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

The New Testament standards for giving are found in the New Testament because of a famine in Judah in the days of the early church. Paul did not advocate using the tithe to feed the hungry in Jerusalem. Instead, he encouraged the saints to give as they had purposed in their heart. He reminded the saints that "He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly." This principle explains why people who tithe receives such a blessing. They are not bless because they give ten percent of their income. They are blessed according to how they give. The more one gives to the glory of God, the more one receives. So people are not being blessed because they pay tithes, but because they give willingly.

Paul reminds the saints not to give of necessity. In other words, Paul did not want the saints to give because they had to. The Old Testament Israelites had to pay tithes of necessity. The whole principle of doing in the New Testament is based on doing because of love, not because one must. This includes everything from loving one’s brother to giving of money.

What the Bible Teaches in 1Corinthians 16:2

Upon the first day of the week let everyone of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

To the same Church in Corinthia, Paul instructs the saints to save up whatever they were going to give till the first day of the week. This was the common day the saints met for the purpose of worship. Each individual would give according to how God had blessed him to do so. This is a far cry from tithes that was never money and was collected once every three years.

Rap and Hip Hop started as a means of message delivery, in my eyes, the masters of that message are the incomparable Public Enemy. The fact that they are still around, reminding us that the world we inhabit is not as it should be, is a potent remider of relevancy of their message. Here is "Harder than you think":

 One place that has an innovative Hip Hop scene is Aotearoa/New Zealand. I got into the sound when I was on holiday there, watching a documentary on Three about the outfit: Nesian Mystik. The best example of the scene there is MC Scribe and the producer P-Money. The best of the bunch is the unique: "Sychronize Thoughts":

Through my work colleagues I have got into the burgeoning hip-hop scene in Poland, some of the most imaginative stuff I have heard in a long time has come out of Poland, most notable being the Warsovian outfit: Grammatik, their early works have a trip-hop sound, reminiscent of Bristolians Portishead. The track Dedykowane from the album "3" has a symphonic quality:

Pare resolver meus problemas de postagen pelo Celular, achei um programa chamado MoFire 0.3 (http://mosh.nokia.com/content/493E6C2A78AC811FE040050A4430350E), ele é em java mas dá a possibilidade de incluir foto, de tirar a foto na hora com a camera do celular entre outras coisas.

Finalizando, atualmente estou colocando meus posts com o Mofire e quando necessario edito usando o Scribe, com isso nem preciso chegar perto do computador.

Veuillez s'il vous plait passer votre chemin. Z'êtes pas tombé au bon endroit. Pas la peine d'insister.

Sinon Monsieur Waf va venir vous botter les fesses.

D'avance merci.

Fermeture de la parenthèse

(non mais franchement !!!)