Sunday, November 3, 2013

DAY 533 - Giving up Your Rights? Exercise Your Rights to Tithe? (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)


**NEW link for the  15th: 13th 100 days 24 hours prayer campaign (We are going to use this 13th list leads up to the 15th. 13th from March 15 to June 22, 2013. 14th from June 22 to August 31, 2013, 15th from Sept. 1, 2013 to Dec. 9. 2013)

Want to know why I have been writing and recording my blogs and podcast daily since August 10, 2009? Click these three links:

Confirmation from John Stott in 2009: 
http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html
My MicroMacro Discipleship, A missing DNA in Discipleship Development: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/introduction-micromacro-discipleship.html
Subject Shifting Devotion Method(Inspired by John Stott in 1991: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html

                               Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:1-12
** If you would like to learn a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please read my “Count Down 5” from my Devotion on Fire blog:
http://bishopsilas.blogspot.ca/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html
To use this simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link:
 .Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf

Please click this link to read 1 Corinthians 9:1-12

Bible Study

     Paul was talking about rights to eat or not to eat food sacrificed to idols. Suddenly, he seemed changing topic to the rights he had as a apostle to deserve support but he did not exercise this right. 
Bishop N.T. Wright says ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._T._Wright ) :
     Paul hasn't behaved like the other apostles have.  They - Cephas (Peter) and the rest, including the actual brothers of Jesus himself - have set a standard of how apostles should live and work.  The task of announcing the good news, with all the hardships and dangers it brought, was to be seen as an occupation deserving of support.  Those who became Christians were to fund the continuing work of the apostles, their food and drink and family needs (verses 4-5).  It was only Paul and Barnabas who had not made use of this right...
     This point is important at a time when in many parts of the world clergy and preachers are paid at a minimal rate.  True, there are other places where their work is honoured, valued and rewarded, but there are many places, including some reasonably affluent countries, where it is considered good for clergy to be paid badly, in case they 'do it for the wrong reasons'. Paul would have had no time for such an attitude. 

N.T. Wright. Paul for Everyone:1 Corinthians. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p.108-109.

      Do you know why churches pay their clergy badly? Because they have no money? Why they have no money? Because people do not offer what they should offer! Statistically speaking, there are only 10% to at most 20% of the people in any church tithe. And, tithing should be the minimal offering according to the teaching of the Bible. So, why can this happen? 


Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe":  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmax47l2hLU

Spiritual Journal

    What I heard from Jesus today is: Giving up your rights? Exercise your rights to tithe?

    What I got from Jesus today is a call for us to offer what Jesus wants us to offer to our local church. We can talk about lots of things and people may be able to do. We talk about reading Bible more, yes people respond. We talk about have daily devotion, yes people respond. We talk about changing attitude to become more Christlikeness, yes people respond. But, when talk about money, tithing, people would most probably say "Wait', "Not now" or just a "NO".

      Paul gave up his rights not to receive money had his own reason. His point in this passage is that he and all God's servants have the rights to receive proper salary just as the soldier, the vineyard worker and the farmer.

     It is very important for us to exercise our rights to tithe and to offer more than tithing in order that our clergy will not have to give up their rights to receive proper salary and your church has enough money to do God's Kingdom ministry. 

     Don't let money lording you! Jesus is Lord! 

Dear Lord Jesus,
Lead us to be able to tithe and gradually to offer more than tithing knowing that this is your command and your call to each of us. Help us to really live out money is not our lord but your are our Lord. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

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一首愛歌


10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) Matt Redman
You may choose to follow my other daily blog: 
Daily Devotion on Fire 2(2 years plan -One year New Testament, one year Old Testament): 
http://bishopsilas2.blogspot.ca/
Daily Devotion on Fire (3 years and 3 months plan, one chapter a day to finish reading the whole Bible): 
http://bishopsilas.blogspot.ca/
Break.Build (40 days daily devotion- First Baby Step for new Christians): http://www.breakbuild.blogspot.ca/

Emmanuel330 (40 weeks First Step Bible Study): 
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好! 良善的僕人!

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