Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Tithes and Donations

Ave Maria Purissima!

WE BELIEVE IN GOD we often say  and no question because even the demons believe in God BUT whether we LOVE GOD is different thing. For we may believe in Him but may not be in love with Him. Loving Him is one of the results of KNOWING Him. And KNOWING comes from HEARING about Him.

So you see, the Lord Jesus Christ, COMMISSIONED HIS APOSTLES TO PREACH, TO TALK, TO INFORM, TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT GOD AND HIS SON.

In the New Testament Bible, you will find many references that the people, the early followers of Christ, sell their belongings and gives to the Apostles. The same was the word of Christ - SELL ALL YOU HAVE GIVE IT TO THE POOR, COME AND FOLLOW ME!

Christians were asked to SELL ALL THEY HAVE.



In the Old Testament, Father God, through Moses, commanded that TITHES MUST BE GIVEN for the Temple and the priests. IT IS AN OBLIGATION. You earn your living 100%, take with you the 90% and GIVE TO THE TEMPLE the 10%. The 10% is in fact your SEED MONEY or SEED BLESSING. When God bless this 10% your income grows to another 100%. Take the 90% give to the temple the 10%.



Apart from the TITHES, there are also DONATIONS. DONATIONS are not obligation, it comes from the goodness of the heart or out of gratification and self elation to be witnessed by others. We give with heart - this is DONATION. However, if we will reflect even deeper - its not that. CHRIST loves Giver who gives to the point of hurting - until it hurts without murmuring.

Its the same with Mother Theresa when she say  I DON'T NEED YOUR SURPLUS, CHRIST DON'T NEED SURPLUS - HE NEEDS, I NEED, ALL YOU HAVE. GIVE ME TO THE POINT OF HURTING - ITS A SACRIFICE.

Have you not read the old woman widow in the Gospel? She have but a shilling, say 10 pesos, not even enough to buy food for the whole day, that's the ONLY MONEY SHE HAVE. Probably she don't and can't do Tithes to the temple. And her situation could have prevented her to give a very small tithes out of begging to the hypocrites and proud Pharisees who consider her as dirt. So what she did was to slip down to the Donation Box her meager money. Did she gave her surplus? Did she gave part of her money. NO. SHE GAVE ALL SHE HAVE FOR THE DAY.



JESUS gave Himself to us to become our DAILY BREAD to the point of His own death hanging on the cross. He never give surplus. He gives all. He gives Himself.

The Father in heaven did the same. He gave His Son, the only begotten son. FOR GOD SO LOVE THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON SO THAT WHOMSOEVER BELIEVE MAY NOT PERISH BUT HAVE AN EVERLASTING LIFE.

NOW, the requirements of God never changed, it's the requirements of man that changed and will continually changed UNTIL it is not in conformity with that of God.

God still require HIS LOVERS, not just believers, to plant seeds to His Temple and His priest. RETURN TO ME SAID THE LORD AND YOU SEE HOW I WILL OPEN THE GATES AND WINDOWS OF HEAVEN AND POUR MY BLESSINGS TO YOU.



Why, you asked, God needs or ask money? Is it not He is ALL SUFFICIENT? This is the common answer of reactive people whose faith is still maturing. To where we shall give the money? To whose account we will deposit? Good question. ...GIVE IT TO THE APOSTLES - that's the practice of the early Christians. Give it to the Levites to the priests to the temple - that's how Father God commanded the Israelites. Could it be dissimilar with the Holy Spirit, our Beloved Ingkong?

The temple or say the Church requires resources to maintain the service of the Altar. The money we give to the Church, our SEED MONEY, becomes for us the means to procure the bread and wine that will be used to celebrate the Most Holy Eucharist. The monies we give becomes the means to pay for electricity bills, water bills, repainting the church offices and buildings, decorating the church, paying all monthly and annual financial obligations, publications, presenting our church to other congregations.



Money is the most liquid form of resource we can give. Of course, in the past, animals and livestock can be given as Tithes or donations, fruits and harvest do as well. These things can be converted to money and from money converted back to these things - depending on the need of the day.



What do we bring to the Church? We come to the church broken and sinful, after a solemn and worthy confession we left the church a saint and absolved. We come to the church with wishes and prayers to have a decent job local or abroad and we promised a lot just to secure that wish to happen as soon as possible. We left the church assured. And we got job and landed abroad. MNI never left us, He never forsake us. Two years or more we stayed outside of the Philippines and we are always happy to share our story how MNI help and bless us in our job and life, of being immigrant.



Now, MNI is waiting for us to return blessings for blessings - we ask material blessings then we should return material blessings as well. We ask for work and He gave us work. Now its time to work for His Church. He helped us build our homes its now time to help Him build His Home - the Church.



David have the same sentiment, he said, I live and stay within a very fine palace yet my Lord still dwells in a tent. I shall build for Him a temple but God forbid him for his hand was stained with blood. Let your son, Solomon, build for Me a temple. Solomon build temple for the Lord. Solomon lavished the temple with all fine materials, finest woods, precious stones and metals. Hundreds and thousands of kilograms of gold and silver did Solomon decorated the temple of God. Thus, Jerusalem became the CENTER OF THE EARTH.

If an earthly king lives in such a happy palace then how about the King of kings? If we believe and we really love Beloved Ingkong then why is it that we plan and build our DREAM HOUSE and yet we never plan nor build HIS DREAM HOUSE.

If you wish to help and you love Beloved Ingkong send me email below.... MNI BLESS YOU + + +



Listen and watch the Ganapan ng Mahal na Ingkong through His Holiness Patriarch John Florentine regarding tithes..