365 Reflections

The first game you ever learn as a child? "Mine." See something, take it, say, "Mine." Then when someone else tries to take it away from you, scream even louder... "MINE!" Then when they still don't give it back, cry and fuss and throw a temper tantrum. Can you tell I have a toddler right now? What is it about us and our innate desire for owning and holding stuff? It's just stuff! Paul does something interesting to call upon the Corinthians to be generous. He quotes a scripture about the manna God gave the Israelites in the desert during their 40 years of wandering.  Here's the quote in context: 2 Corinthians 8:13–15 (ESV) For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14 your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15 As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever ...

Hebrews 11:4 (ESV) By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. I am a amazed at how often people fight the concept of tithing.  What does this passage tell us about Abel?  He offered a more acceptable sacrifice by faith.  How could it be more acceptable if, as some people like to say, it was simply by choice that God accepted his and rejected Cain's?  That is utter nonsense.  It was accepted because it was sacrificially given from the firstborn of his flocks.  Whereas Cain's was offered "in the course of time."  Can we put this to rest?  Our money says a ton about our hearts.  Where we put our treasure, there our heart will be.  And right from the beginning of life after the fall, mankind has had an issue with possessions.  That we think we actually o...