Beans & Bibles

Beans & Bibles A fresh expression of church, and we are moving. Updates to come. It's not a Bible study that's an offshoot of a main church service -- it's church itself!

04/15/2026

So, today I conclude a 20 plus year journey with what was to me eye popping in my daily walk with Christ!

We explored, four days ago, “what is sin?” The best definition I ever heard was from Josh Tovey, “Sin is when Jesus isn’t enough!”

Two days ago i asked, what we do with the Old Testament specifically the Ten Commandments Mark Cryderman, your sermon over 20 years ago started this road, “Everyone has broken almost all of the Ten Commandments!” You broke them all down and taught as Jesus taught, that “the actual killing of another human is not the sin, but just the thought of it, for what’s in the heart, not what the hands did, is the sin!” Adultery actually is when I spend time harboring it in my heart. Not the actual act.

David Clarity(sp) taught that the decision to follow Christ is a change of direction, a u-turn. He joked, did you ever hear of the Farmer who couldn’t make his ewe turn?” But seriously, Paul on the Damascus road has made a u-turn. Now he didn’t turn around on the road, but on the road to destroying Christians he met the Christ of The Christians and thus turned from destroying them to making them.

Paul writes about how there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. How we are free from the law. How in the law there is no justification, but how without Christ, the law doesn’t condemn, because again, without Christ we stand condemned already!

So as I read Leviticus, as I read exodus, I ask again? What do we do with the Ten Commandments? What do we do with the levitical law?

Jesus said, they hear but don’t understand. They see but do not perceive. For how long lord do I walk in darkness? What do I do with the Old Testament?

I pray, through The Word of YHWH! Thru the teaching of the Holy Spirit, that I finally understand something!

The law is NOT a set of lines in the sand, thank you Peter Goodman and Ken Gilmore! The law is a direction, a pathway. It is the wrong way! We do not walk toward it. We do not walk toward murder and stop short. We walk toward love and Good deeds. That’s opposite way, toward Jesus. He gave us a direction to walk, “A new command I give you: love one another…”. When asked which commandment is the most important, Jesus answered, Mark Cryderman’s paraphrase: Love God, Love People!

To a young person who is dating, the question isn’t, how far can we go and still honor God? Asking that question itself is the answer. You’re walking in the wrong direction. Leave the buttons and zippers alone. She might be someone else’s wife one day. She still is not yours!

That boat next door? Don’t be envious. Maybe take half of what it would take to buy that boat, find a ministry that serves people who are truly starving and severely suffering, and support that ministry. That’s sharing. Don’t we teach our children how to share? How did we unlearn that concept?

Which way are you walking? The ten guides show us more where not to walk, not what not to do. Look very very closely to how Jesus talked. Inside His words are these concepts! I truly believe that now; and it has taken me this long. Hmm. I need to figure out how to learn quicker!

04/11/2026

For years I’ve contemplated the law, the Ten Commandments, and the relationship of the Old Testament to the New! Thanks to Ken Gilmore and Peter Goodman for a series of sermons that I can now take what Jesus taught and unite it to our Father’s Word in a far more complete way.

So let’s spend a few days asking questions that will lead us to an understanding of Gods Love that WILL change our lives!

Today, question 1: What is sin?

04/09/2026

Isaiah 3:18-26. “In that day the Lord will sn**ch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, the earrings and bracelets and veils, the headdresses and ankle chains and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, the signet rings and nose rings, the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls. Instead of fragrance there will be a stench; instead of a sash, a rope; instead of well dressed hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, sloth; instead of beauty, branding. Your young men will fall by the sword, your warriors in battle. The gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground.”

Welcome to Christianity today. Yes Zion is the subject here, but isn’t Zion where God is? If that is the case, may I make the case that the church, the body of believers, is Zion? That makes this passage from Isaiah even more pertinent today! And let’s look inside our four walls!

The church has become more vulgar, more drunk, more of seekers of pleasure than real justice than ever before. And I’m not talking about immigration, but it has become dishonest in ways I’ve never seen before. The conservatives hold tightly to their right to bare arms. The left hold tight to their right over their own body vs the lives of others. Is this Christianity? No wonder the world rejects the church. What would happen if we were to denounce the killing of babies within the walls of schools? What would happen if we got honest about abortion? A “lead pastor, theologian, and scholar” hates Trump, a president I never voted for, so much that he agrees with abortion, And I quote that pastor’s article on the subject, “only four percent of abortions are for birth control purposes!” Really?

I write this not for politics, but we all need to get some honesty. What is God saying here in Isaiah? I believe it is about how we spend on vanity! And the American church is at the center of it all.

Christian, the next time you buy alcohol, equal the money to a credible organization that does good in a foreign land where there is so much suffering. The next time you get a tattoo, double that money spent, support a good missionary where there is truly changing lives. Etc!

God isn’t against us brushing our hair, he’s not against us using good hygiene, and even some good fragrances. There is no prohibition to looking well dressed. But the over the top spending at Victorias Secrets. The great splurging on oneself at Ultra Beauty. The great money spent at the tattoo shop; where is the sharing we teach our children?

Go to Haiti, what a tremendous need. There are fantastic organizations doing life changing ministries! Go to Bethlehem! Eye opening! There are missionaries who want to see something happen for these people. And what about our own Latino neighbors? Maybe instead of fighting immigration battles, how about we find good missionaries and give them support? After all, who can tell me about the corruption in these Catholic countries? The corruption not only is the governments, but even in the attitudes of the blue collar workers as well. I’ve seen it first hand. They need us to show them love for one another instead of stealing from everyone they can. Again, I’ve been there, I’ve had the m16s surrounding me for both protection and to grease the palms.

Tithing is simply Old Testament. Jesus has a better way! Sharing!

04/04/2026

Good morning. It’s Saturday, Shabbat in the Hebrew world, and that one day no one is celebrating anything. Yesterday was Good Friday, tomorrow, Easter.

Our church has been studying Matthew for a few weeks, and so my morning routine has been in Matthew. Friday was the study of the arrest and crucifying of Yeshua. But there is nothing to look at today. Should I wait till tomorrow? Na.

So I looked at Mark for the crucifying passage. And WOW, something new, though this is also in Matthew, it just happened to hit me in my 126 to time I’ve looked at this section. But to understand where my pea brain is you have to go back to the scene. Insert yourself without the prior knowledge the gospels give us. You must remove all knowledge the holy sprit has taught us and reenlist the rawness of the emotions!

You are a Jew. You live in Israel, your promised land, but the Roman’s have subdued you and tax you into submission. You are watching and have been for four hundred years for the messiah. Then this Jesus shows up. He does miracles like a messiah, but he’s absolutely no threat to the Romans as everyone was hoping. But he is different, and he has a huge following! Could he be the one?

And so let’s skip ahead to Pilates’s “Oval Office” where the Jewish leaders are accusing this “prophet” of blasphemy, and Pilate asks, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus answers,” Yes!” What happens next to me now is absolutely astonishing! Which group is all up in arms? Pilate and the threatened Romans? No. The Jews. Here Jesus claims that he is the greatest threat, greatest threat to the Roman world there ever has been, but the district Roman ruler “doesn’t find anything of significance to charge him with!” But the Jewish leaders? They want Barabbas freed and Jesus killed.

The Romans had more grace than the religious Jewish leaders. The Romans should have been greatly up in arms after the greatest threat ever written about. But it was the religious pious leaders who condemned Him. (How many times cani get away with saying”threat”?)

Sometimes we look at how the christian community has conducted themselves and we must ask, what has really changed?

Toward the end of, God’s Not Dead III, a college girl, full of anger, knocked on the “guilty” pastor’s door and makes the statement of the movie, “The problem we have isn’t knowing what you Christians are against. We just don’t know what you are for!” (My paraphrase).

How are we different than the world? Jesus was the only one who deserved His rights, but it is us who hold tightly to them. He wasn’t a threat to the world, but aren’t we? He’s the one who suffered so greatly, why is it we believe it was so that we could live in comfort? I don’t see that anywhere except for after our time on this earth.

As one pastor said it, Jesus tore the curtain. Pastors today are trying to sew it all up again. And to be honest, not just pastors but christian leaders wanting pastors to sew it up. We are looking for religious systems. We don’t want to suffer, which is ok, but we reject our suffering, that’s not what Jesus said. We in America are becoming seekers of pleasure. In the church we are witnessing p**n, gluttony, drunkenness, materialism, and what else?

What are we for?

Remember, God has you where He has you to advance the gospel through you!

03/30/2026

President Donald Trump,

Recently I see you posted a letter from Franklyn Graham, where he gave you the location of the keys to the gates of heaven. He’s exactly right! No one can work their way to heaven. The question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”, is a wrong question because it refers to people as good. Not one person on earth is good except the Son of God. Only Jesus can be referred to as good! So when bad things happen to anyone on earth, bad things happen to bad people. That’s just truth according to His Word.

But! Concerning those who follow the ways of our Lord, those who bow down to the only one true God, how can we do bad works? How can a fruit tree provide thorns?

President Donald Trump, while policies might be good, what we say comes from the overflow of our heart. If you do something right for the wrong reason, there still requires a change of heart, then the good things that are done get perceived better. And in addition, the right things that are done are done even better. For instance, you might have a good immigration policy, but is it carried out well?

So, what if a change of heart recognizes that people need to be treated better? What would happen if you were to invite Liz Cheney to the White House simply to apologize? What if you invited John McCain’s family to Washington to ask forgiveness? Just think about it? The press wouldn’t know what to do with that!

A change of heart! A U-turn in life! One day using God’s name in vain, the next day, calling God Lord! A change of heart! He’s ready and waiting! For how long? I don’t know! But He is!

P4U. (Praying for yoU).

03/25/2026

President Trump

We are commanded to pray for our leaders. I was asked back in the day, “Steve, do you pray for President Clinton?” “Ron, I don’t know how! I don’t agree with anything about him!” “Steve, Steve, Steve. You don’t have to pray for his success in his policies. What if you prayed for his salvation? What if you prayed for him to find Jesus as Lord and savior? What if he found the Lord while president? What a difference that would make!”

How convicted I was! I was so short sighted! I was wrong. Not this time!

“Father, become so very real to President Trump that even when he does right he sounds right! Change his heart even in truth to have grace! Change his language! While carrying the big stick, soften his bark! Father, change him into a meek and humble leader under control!”

03/24/2026

Good morning all. I’m back. My desire is to start the dialog again through this venue.

A couple avenues from where I try to communicate:
1: on paper I’m a citizen of the USA. In reality, I’m not. I’m a citizen of the kingdom of YHWH. Yeshua is Lord! Jesus is Lord!
2. God’s word IS the final authority. It isn’t a list of things to do or not do. It is life itself. The Ten Commandments aren’t to be followed, they are to be lived! What IS the difference? Following them is legalistic, but living them is loving. Let me give you concrete examples of the difference.

Thou shall not commit murder. Following this command means no one dies by my hand. Living this command means not hating someone wishing them dead.
Or, thou shalt keep the sabbath. Thou shall do no work on the seventh day. The Hebrews and to a degree the church teach that we do nothing. Legalistic. How about we live it? Why do we think we need seven days of wages or spend seven days making and protecting our wealth? What if we lived it? On the seventh day we don’t worry about our wealth or maintain our possessions, but instead we focus on our relationships, with God through our worship or our relationships with one another being a blessing to one another?

Jesus, Yeshua didn’t abolish the law. In fact, he didn’t even water it down using grace as His sword. But in fact, He elevated it to show us how far off the mark or target we truly are!

So, the church lately has been assisting those who would divide us. And they do it in the name of pacifism. But if we would lay down our opinions for God’s complete word we might look inside just a little more and say a little less.

Thank you

06/17/2023

Where are the posts from the past?

11/01/2021

Hello all. I'm so sorry I've been out of touch. My wife and I moved, and concerning the ministry of Beans and Bibles, I had to give it up. That said, I see more than a few people have been checking on these reflections of God's word. Beans and Bibles has been on my mind a lot lately. I mean a lot! Our ministry was to help people who have been disenchanted with church reconnect with God, our Father and his children, us, and our brothers and sisters in Christ. We were meeting in places where people would be, not intending on coming to church. We would be open for anyone who would like to engage. We strove not to be a combative, but listening agents for Jesus and his message of Good News, the Gospel!

In these posts, this writer had a desire to bring people to the Word of God, or to God Himself through His Word, which is Jesus Christ. See previous posts to understand this concept.

Today however I'm grieved by the church's response. Not any one particular church, but the church in general to political and environmental issues like Covid 19 and the election of 2020. I will tell you up front, the election did not go as I wished, but then again, I'm not a citizen of the US. I have a passport from the US. I have a pilot's license the states I'm a US citizen, but I gave that up soo many years ago now, and through these times, though it's difficult, I must punch through mentally when things in this great country don't go the way I believe they should.

But I must ask, Have I tried to take back this country for God? At times I'm sure I did try. I've fought those conservative battles. In ways I will continue, but they must must must be in ways that don't belittle those who believe differently than I do. Jesus didn't do that. He certainly called the religious leaders "Brood of vipers". But that was the "religious" ones. Those who lived life just wrong Jesus didn't really spend much time talking about. But when one found themselves on the wrong side of life, Jesus was there! That was when He could voice his opinion on things to "help" them "get better" like a doctor would.

So today, in the midst of the pandemic and post election, let's explore John 17. This writing is for those of us who believe in Jesus as the Christ. For those of us who claim Heaven as our kingdom where we can celebrate socialism under the only one who can lead in that political way. Where color is no longer a part of our skin. Where there are no contested elections.

I'm going to talk from a teaching that David Claridy, (spelling of his last name quite unknown) on this pivotal chapter in the Word of God.

Vs 6: "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world." They were in the world, but like a bottle in the ocean floating on top, they were plucked from the world. Vs. 8: "For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them." Jesus took the cork off the bottle and placed His word in the bottle then put the cork back on. Vs 11: "I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one." Here Jesus put them back in the world. To string this together, Jesus pulled the bottle out of the water, pulled the cork off the bottle, poured the water out of the bottle, placed his letter in the bottle, placed the cork back on the bottle, then put the bottle back in the water.

I don't remember if I've stated this before, but Covid was our opportunity to minister to a lost world. But we blew it as a whole. I've known churches to almost totally deny Covid's existence, just like we denied the existence of dinosaurs. Just because we can't explain it, we need to stop, listen, read, study, and then speak, but here, today, we speak without understanding. "The local church is the hope of the world, and its future rests primarily in the hands of its leaders." (Bill Hybels) We have led poorly. We made covid political instead of comforting those who have suffered. People are still suffering and I get a text from a former pastor, "Vaccinated or not COVID can still be transmitted even to other vaccinated people." Really? Just meet me for lunch. I hate government as much as anyone, but there are some things it does do. Is the vaccine the mark of the beast? If not, what's up? That said, in my listening, if someone elects not to be vaccinated, I definitely understand that!! I never buy an experimental car. The first model has bugs that need to be worked out. So, for those who fear the vaccine may cause more harm than good? I get it! Totally.

Both sides, Christians!! UNDERSTAND FIRST THEN BE UNDERSTOOD!! (Stephen Covey) Non-Christians? Just live. I'm not here to harass you on your "vaccination" condition or beliefs. They are totally unimportant to me. I'm vaccinated, and I will not live in fear. I'm not going to run into the hospital either looking for the virus. I'm just managing my risks as I am comfortable.

Finally. That pastor, he's not a citizen of this country either. I get it!! We need to understand. Let me say this again. We need to understand, we're not citizens here. Jesus bought us, plucked us, cleaned us, filled us, put his seal on us, then put us back in. We're to live like we don't have dirty water inside us, but by the word of God, which is that of love. We need to tell the truth in love, not in our own righteousness, but that of Jesus. We need to be like Him, not who we think we ought to be, and finally; God doesn't need us to win back our country. And I believe this country is already lost.
We need to spread the good news. Only then can the country repent. It needs repentance, not to be slapped right. We don't have to fight His wars. The people without Jesus are already condemned. Church, the world knows what we are against. "They need to know what we are for." (God's Not Dead III).

Love God; Love People

steve

04/24/2021

What do you believe and why? I proclaim the Word of God. Too many Christians are taught by men. Too many men and women are taught by colleges. You’re reading this. I actually would prefer you be in God’s word every day. I’m human, and I make mistakes, but if you are not in God's Word every day in one way or another, let me throw an opinion into the mix. Hopefully I can guide you TO the word of God instead of explaining it. But for now…

I like numbers. Recently I’ve adopted a new favorite number, 13. “Oh no!” you say. “That’s the ‘unlucky’ number.” And you would be right. It is a very unlucky number for the namesake of the word, “luck”, Lucifer. To Lucifer the number 13 is the most unlucky number. It is the number of Jesus. I’ve posted about this number before concerning John 3:16. Let’s begin with the Old Testament.

Most believe there are 12 tribes of Israel. We are also taught that these 12 tribes are the children of Jacob. Not true again. Not totally. And there are 13. This is not a trick. It’s simple counting. However, if I compare the Old Testament to the New Testament I get back to 12 plus one. That really is how we should look at it, 12 plus 1. In the new testament the "plus one" is Jesus. King of Kings and Lord of Lords. May I add; Priest of Priests. Admittedly, this is my own addition. I can’t find “Priest of Priests” anywhere, but read on.

I make the case of 13 tribes just by counting them.
1. Reuben
2. Simeon
3. Gad
4. Judah
5. Issachar
6. Zebulun
7. Ephraim
8. Manasseh
9. Benjamin
10. Dan
11. Asher
12. Naphtali

These are the 13, but 12 tribes. ( I know. Didn't make any sense)
But there are two children of Jacob left out. Mathematical problem again. 12 plus 2 doesn’t equal 12, nor does it equal 13. But 14. Just for quizzical purposes, without reading on yet, which two sons of Jacob are missing in the list above? (Again, not a trick question) Can you name one? Can you name both? It’s not important, just a personal quiz.

Of the two sons not mentioned, one had two sons. He was a busy lad into his 30s leading all of Egypt. Can you name him yet? He married what I personally think without much study an Egyptian girl. Between the ages of 30 and 37 he had two sons: Ephraim and Manasseh. If you haven’t guessed it by now, Joseph is who I’m talking about. Remember? Joseph was Jacob’s favorite, but there is no tribe of Joseph. But there are two tribes of Joseph actually: Ephraim and Manasseh. And counting 12 sons of Jacob and subtracting out Joseph then adding 2, Ephraim and Manasseh, we get back to 13. Looking up though we still only see 12. Hmm. Still someone missing. Who’s missing? Levi!

The reason Levi is missing is that his tribe was not to go to war. The 12 tribes were the warrior tribes. The 13th tribe, not mentioned above, but still a tribe, was Levi. His was to care for the tabernacle. It is a tribe. But it is a “standalone” tribe. All the other tribes were physically situated around the tabernacle. Three tribes took up one of four positions around the tabernacle, but Levi camped with the tabernacle. 3 tribes to the east, 3 to the south, 3 to the west, and 3 to the north. 4 camps around the tabernacle and one tribe with the tabernacle.

The connection to the NT is the tribe of Levi, the 13th tribe. Just like the “Son” of John 3:16 and the last entrant to the “Last Supper”, the Priest is separated out. Like the Lamb or the scapegoat is separated out.

This has a distant cousin in the book of Job. Again, not taught well to the American Christian pastor in college. We all hear Job had 3 friends. Let’s count them:
1. Eliphaz the Temanite
2. Bildad the Shuhite
3. Zophar the Naamathite
4. Elihu, son of Barakel the Buzite
Again, American Christians have a difficult time counting. But look at the pattern again: Three friends came to Job with not quite accurate accounts of who God is and what Job’s problem was. Then came Elihu, who was the spokesman for God, kind of like Job’s priest before God spoke.

For the person who really wants to study the Bible, I believe we find that the Word of God is absolutely not linear, but layered. Too many of our beliefs are in conflict with other Christians’ beliefs. Pre-trib/Post-trib. Unconditional election/conditional election. Transubstantiation/consubstantiation. What if all are true? How is that possible?

First let me say, I have no clue!! But does it matter? If it does matter, it is divisive. Does God want us divided? No. ("No" is always God's rhetorical question answer by the way) So, back to: Does it matter? What did Paul say? Christ is born in the flesh, lived 33 years, died to atone for our sins, was risen on the 3rd day, and now sits at the right hand of God the Father. Those are the important things. All the rest is “debatable”. Thus it doesn’t matter. What is important is that His people are in His Word, which is Jesus Himself.

To conclude: I love reading other works. Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, C. S. Lewis, Max Lucado, Frank Peretti, Ted Decker, Tim LaHaye, Francis Chan, Phillip Yancey; just to name a few. Their insights are inspiring, and I learn so much from them; but: I have to line up what I learn directly from God’s word itself!!! Without God’s word I take on the sinful nature of the writers, meaning, the men writing the books, and myself writing this post, we are sinful in nature. We don’t always get it right. God’s word is infallible and complete.

Read fewer books and posts and more of God’s word. God’s word will change your life. Make His Word the center of your life and quit living by man’s superstitions.

Note: I still don’t walk under ladders. The screwdriver I left on top has punctured the skin of my bald head more than once. I still don’t like black cats walking in front of me. I don’t know why. I still don’t like breaking mirrors. I’ve been cut too many times. I however don’t avoid cracks in tiles unless the grout hasn’t been sealed yet.

02/26/2021

Recently I've been studying Exodus. You know, when the Israelites exited Egypt? You know, when Moses began his ministry at the young age of 80? After they got out of Egypt, and the Egyptian army drowned in what some call 2 inches of water, (they claim it was the Reed Sea and not the Red Sea, not knowing that the old testament was written in Hebrew so a letter missing would have been a Hebrew word and not an English word), they went to Mt. Sinai, I believe also known as Mt. Horeb.

Here the really getting old Moses went up, then down, then up, then down, then up, then down; (I'm getting tired just writing this) to carry not two stones of Commandments, but 4; he met God. It was here that God gave the plans and orders to build a temple or here a tabernacle.

So, what did God ask of the Israelites to get this job done? This was no small undertaking at all. This was huge! There was no Gary Indiana or Pittsburg Pennsylvania to get steel. And God did not ask for steel or iron at all. It was pure gold, silver, bronze, acacia wood, fine linens made of purple, scarlet, and blue. Everything absolutely top end. Also pure olive oil and other ingredients for the lanterns and incense. Again, everything absolutely top end. I forgot, gems. How could I forget the gems?

In addition, Moses was to name these two characters, Bezalel and Oholiab as the lead craftsmen. God specifically said He would fill Bezalel with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills - to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, ...

When Moses told the Israelites all that God had asked, starting at Ex 35:20: "Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses' presence, and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the Lord... All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: Brooches, earrings, rings, and ornaments... Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or other durable leather brought them... Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun... The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted... All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do."

But just a little while later the craftsmen had a problem. They had too much! Too much!!! When has a church had too much giving? Has that ever happened? I'm sure it has, but in this world today hmm. Crickets. I don't hear anything happening. Hmm. "Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: 'No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.' And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work."

Today, in this Covid 19 world our government has printed over 5 Trillion dollars. 5 Trillion. To repay that at the rate of one dollar per second it would take: Wait for it: 158,549 years. That doesn't include the 25 trillion already in debt, so multiply those years by 5 to get to the repayment at 1 dollar per second. I'm not going to get political, and much of that money was printed the last term, further, I will not debate rather it was a good thing or a bad thing at this time of pandemic where so many people are suffering. My point is this: Where was the church? One year ago I said many times in many places, this is opportunity for the church, but: crickets. Giving was up a little in many churches, but still, not nearly enough to keep government from claiming our dependency, which is what government wants, opposing God who requires our dependency on Him first.

Let's leave this chapter of this book and enter into the new testament teaching concerning the temple/tabernacle.

Jesus moved the idea of the temple from brick and mortar to "carbon units". Bodies. "I will tear down this temple and rebuild it in three days." If the temple now is us, if it isn't a building, what is the purpose for the building? Is it important? Is there a reason to spend money on things? I believe there is a reason. We still use a sanctuary separate ourselves from the world for a moment, and to congregate. Jesus in now way dispelled that. This said, how much money is required? Is this where the gold and silver should be used? Though buildings do come with a cost, I don't believe that's anymore the place where real money should be spent. I believe the gold should still be collected but used to build up the body, the temple, the Christians for works of service. This service isn't just in the sanctuary though, it's wherever the Christian goes, plays, works, communes. It's wherever God goes within us! God lived, (where His being was centered if we can fathom that) in the ark of the covenant. Now He centers Himself in His children, made perfect in Christ through the washing of His spilled blood, and His sacrifice.

Please, please, consider your blessings. Are you blessing? There is a book written with more scriptural truth than most any other outside the Bible itself I've ever read: Money, Possessions, & Eternity; revised and updated, by Randy Alcorn. To summarize this book: It isn't about how little you need to give, but, what do you really need of what is given you?

When that question gets answered by budgeting based on living simple lives, then what God gives you really becomes a blessing to others.

Do you know, or have you ever heard of those who give 90% and live on 10? I would not advise that. It's too extreme, as you will still owe taxes on 50%, which will amount to more than the 10% remaining. But, what if you lived on a simple budget and that got you to 50%?

This is no command. But it is good! Living on a budget no matter how much you make is always good. Making a lot of money only for yourself and for spending, what is that if not gluttony?

Jesus commands us to invest well. Too many believe He was talking about the stock market, or real estate, but He was talking about not how you make money, but how you give it. Simply throwing it into the wind and asking God to bless it is lazy. There is an art, believe it or not, of how you give.

In the next post from Beans and Bibles, I will tell you about a new calling I've received. It is soo exciting, and I wish I could tell you here, but this is getting long enough. So now, start a budget. Figure out what you really need. Bless yourself a little if God has already been blessed and is blessing, but don't be a glutton. Give! Bring your "gold, silver, and fine linens!"

Thanks!

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3700 56th Street SW
Westland, MI

Opening Hours

9am - 5pm

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