Nov 9-15-08 Life-The Big Picture

LIFE-THE BIG PICTURE

This is an article found in“The Word In Life

Study BibleTM”


Mark 12:28 NET Now one of the experts in the law came and heard them

debating. When he saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is the most

important of all?"


29 Jesus answered, "The most important is: 'Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the

Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your

strength.'


31 The second is: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other

commandment greater than these." 32 The expert in the law said to him, "That is true, Teacher; you are right to say that he

is one, and there is no one else besides him.


33 And to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all

burnt offerings and sacrifices."


34 When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." Then no one dared any longer

to question him.


When Jesus recited the greatest of the commandments, He repeated the

word "all" four times. What aspects of life was He including?


Later, Paul emphasized that "all things were created" through and for Christ.

Colossians 1:15 NET He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all

creation,


16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him — all things,

whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether

principalities or powers —


all things were created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all

things and all things are held together in him.


18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the

firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all

things.


How much of "all" is all?Here's how a typical American who lives

to be 75 years old will have spent life: In light of this use of time, when does

a person "love the Lord God" as Jesus commanded?


Is that limited to what one does for an hour or so on Sunday morning? If so, then

worship takes up a mere 4,300 hours, or 1 percent, of one's waking life—assuming

that one goes to church every Sunday for 75 years!


Is that what Jesus or Paul had in mind? No. Christ is Lord of all of life—not just Sunday mornings, but weekdays, too,

including time at work.


Furthermore, He is Lord not only of our time, but of our money and possessions

as well. Unfortunately, many Christians in the West have developed some

dangerous attitudes in these areas that push God to the fringes of life. For

example:


Myth: One-seventh of our time belongs to God. Some Christians speak of

Sunday as "the Lord's day," a day for religion. And so it might be if

Christians worshiped from sunup to sundown.


But for most people Sunday worship means an hour-long service before an afternoon of televised sporting events. Thus the "day of worship" is effectively reduced to less than one-twentieth of

the week.


That was never what God intended. Originally, the seventh day or Sabbath

rest was viewed as the completion of the week, not a break or separation from the

work week. It was a time for review, celebration, and restoration.


Yet already by Jesus' day there were major distortions regarding the

Sabbath. It had become a day of legalistic ritual. Jesus sought to restore it as a day of compassion and worship.


Luke 6:1 NET Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his

disciples picked some heads of wheat, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them.

2 But some of the Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is against the law on

the Sabbath?"


3 Jesus answered them, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his

companions were hungry — 4 how he entered the house of God, took and ate the sacred bread, which is not lawful for

any to eat but the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?"


5 Then he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath." 6 On

another Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching. Now a man was there whose right hand was

withered.


7 The experts in the law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they could find a reason to accuse him. 8 But he

knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Get up and

stand here."


So he rose and stood there. 9 Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do

good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?" 10 After looking around at them all, he said to the man,

"Stretch out your hand."


The man did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with mindless rage and began debating

with one another what they would do to Jesus.


Dedicating all of our time to God does not mean apportioning so much to

family so much to a job, so much for ourselves, and a little left over for God.


No, all 168 hours of the week, all 52 weeks of the year, and all of the years of a lifetime belong to God and are on

loan to us to manage for Him.


Myth: Ten percent of our money belongs to God. Some Christians believe that

God expects them to give a flat 10 percent of their income to church and

other ministries.


The reality is that on the average, American believers give only 2.3

percent of their income to religious or charitable causes of any kind.


The underlying principle that needs to be considered is that God has given

us the ability to earn money so actually all 100 percent of our earnings belong

to Him.


We are called to manage our money—not just what we give away, but what

we keep, too—according to His values.


Tithing was intended as a discipline to remind God's people that all of what they have or earn belongs to Him.

Originally a voluntary activity.


Genesis 14:13 NET A fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living

by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and Aner. (All these

were allied by treaty with Abram.)


14 When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he mobilized

his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued

the invaders as far as Dan.


15 Then, during the night, Abram divided his forces against them and defeated

them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16

He retrieved all the stolen property.


He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women

and the rest of the people. 17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King's

Valley).


18 Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of

the Most High God.) 19 He blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by the Most High God, Creator of heaven

and earth.


20 Worthy of praise is the Most High God, who delivered your enemies into your

hand."Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of

everything. 21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and

take the possessions for yourself."


22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, "I raise my hand to the LORD, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth,

and vow 23 that I will take nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the

strap of a sandal.


That way you can never say, 'It is I who made Abram rich.' 24 I will take nothing

except compensation for what the young men have eaten. As for the share of the men who went with me — Aner, Eshcol,

and Mamre — let them take their share."


Genesis 28:20 NET Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food to eat and clothing to wear, 21 and I

return safely to my father's home, then the LORD will become my God.


22 Then this stone that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of

God, and I will surely give you back a tenth of everything you give me."


It was intended for the care of others and as a representation of the worship of God.

Deuteronomy 26:1 NET When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you occupy it and

live in it,


2 you must take the first of all the ground's produce you harvest from the land the LORD your God is giving you,

place it in a basket, and go to the place where he chooses to locate his

name.


3 You must go to the priest in office at that time and say to him, "I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the

LORD promised to our ancestors to give us."


4 The priest will then take the basket from you and set it before the altar of the LORD your God. 5 Then you must affirm before the LORD your GOD,


"A wandering Aramean was my ancestor, and he went down to Egypt and lived

there as a foreigner with a household few in number, but there he became a great,

powerful, and numerous people. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated and oppressed us,

forcing us to do burdensome labor.


7 So we cried out to the LORD, the God of our ancestors, and he heard us and saw our humiliation, toil, and oppression. 8 Therefore the LORD brought us out of Egypt with tremendous strength and

power, as well as with great awe-inspiring signs and wonders.


9 Then he brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with

milk and honey. 10 So now, look! I have brought the first of the ground's produce that you, LORD, have given

me.”


Then you must set it down before the LORD your God and worship before him. 11 You will celebrate all the good things that the LORD your God has given you and your

family, along with the Levites and the resident foreigners among you.


12 When you finish tithing all your income in the third year (the year of tithing), you must give it to the Levites, the resident

foreigners, the orphans, and the widows so that they may eat to their satisfaction in

your villages.


13 Then you shall say before the LORD your God, "I have removed the sacred

offering from my house and given it to the Levites, the resident foreigners, the

orphans, and the widows just as you have commanded me.


I have not violated or forgotten your commandments. 14 I have not eaten anything when I was in mourning, or removed any of it while ceremonially

unclean, or offered any of it to the dead;


I have obeyed you and have done everything you have commanded me. 15 Look down from your holy dwelling place in heaven and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us, just as you promised our ancestors — a land

flowing with milk and honey."


16 Today the LORD your God is commanding you to keep these statutes and ordinances, something you must do

with all your heart and soul. 17 Today you have declared the LORD to be your God, and that you will walk in his ways, keep

his statutes, commandments, and ordinances, and obey him.


18 And today the LORD has declared you to be his special people (as he already promised you) so you may

keep all his commandments.


19 Then he will elevate you above all the nations he has made and you will

receive praise, fame, and honor. You will be a people holy to the LORD your

God, as he has said.


Tithing was never intended to replace obedience to all of God's commands.

Matthew 23:23 NET "Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites!


You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important

in the law — justice, mercy, and faithfulness!


You should have done these things without neglecting the others. 24 Blind

guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel!


Myth: Only some real estate belongs to God.. Too many Christians have fallen into a dangerous pattern of identifying a few buildings as the Lord's property

—


religious institutions like churches, schools, and church-owned hospitals. By implication, other real estate is ours

to do with as we please.


However, Scripture opposes that view. Paul says that "all things were created

through Him and for Him."Colossians 1:16 NET for all things in heaven

and on earth were created by him —


all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions,

whether principalities or powers — all things were created through him and

for him.


Even our bodies are temples of God.1 Corinthians 6:19 NET Or do you not know that

your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God,

and you are not your own?


God calls us to serve Him in all that we do.Colossians 3:17 NET And whatever you do in

word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the

Father through him.


Therein lies the path to true blessing, peace, and truth.

Christ has come to break our bondage to anything less.


Equipped by His Spirit within us and instructed by His written Word, we can

live wholly for the kingdom.


How are we doing?Do we consider God’s Grace in

providing all we have?Our Time, Our Money,

Our Property


Worshiping God consists of more that a couple hours on Sunday morning.

Does our worship reflect God to others in all our activities, every minute, every

day, every week, all year?


How about the management of our God given money and property?

Are we good stewards of all God has blessed us with?

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Nov 9-15-08 Life-The Big Picture