Breakfast

The church that I attend, Celebration Church is great! We have a men's breakfast on Friday mornings. It usually consists of free breakfast (orange juice, coffee, chic-fil-a chicken biscuit YUM), a little praise and worship and then a good teaching from Pastor Chris.

So, yesterday morning was about convictions. hmmmmm. There is one piece that really hit me. If you are a Christian, then prepare yourself for what you are about to read.

1 Corinthians 5:11
King James Bible
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

Let me simplify this so we understand a little better what Paul is saying:
God's Word Translation
Now, what I meant was that you should not associate with people who call themselves brothers or sisters in the Christian faith but live in sexual sin, are greedy, worship false gods, use abusive language, get drunk, or are dishonest. Don't eat with such people.

Before this verse, Paul explains not to associate with sexually immoral people, or idolater's or... well, basically sinner's. Then in this verse he explains that he was talking about Believer's, Christians, People of Faith that profess Christ, but live in the world. I think Paul wanted to emphasize this because the "lost" is our ministry! That is who we are to be around trying to lead them to Christ. However, I'm thinking that hanging around "Christians" that live the lives that Paul describes above will bring us down, not help further the kingdom.

We all sin. Being a Christian does not mean that I am perfect. It simply means that I am forgiven.

Here is my point in this first half of this entry. Christians, be careful who you associate with, but more importantly...... ARE YOU THE SO-CALLED BELIEVER THAT PAUL IS SPEAKING OF? I could go on and on, but I really want to leave it at this... THINK! If this describes you, then please re-evaluate your relationship with Jesus. That marketing campaign years ago was so perfect, if people would only apply it. WWJD - What Would Jesus Do?

Since our men's breakfast was about "convictions", then I want to really hit you with something else as well.

Tithing. Pay attention for a minute. God tells us to "test" Him in only one thing. ONLY ONCE does he tell us to test Him. WOW. And He is talking about tithing when he says this.

Malachi 3:10
New International Version
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

I'm not talking about the Imagine campaign (even though that is a HUGE passion and conviction of mine!). I'm talking about tithing. Look at that verse! First of all, He tells us over and over in the scriptures to tithe. Therefore, the way that I interpret it, is that this is not a request. This is a rule. A commandment. A requirement for the believer. But, look! We will recieve so much blessing that we will not have room enough for it. If you are not tithing, you are either calling the person that you call your God a liar, or you simply don't have the faith that you should have as a Christian.

I personally believe that our reward for our faith via our action of tithing will be in Heaven, but I also believe in my heart that He rewards us here. I have NEVER yet in my life heard a believer say that they are tithing regularly and doing it cheerfully, but don't feel blessed. EVEN NON BELIEVERS GIVE TO CHARITIES! Everyone in Hollywood, the music industry and guru's such as Bill Gates give.

My last point is this. And please think about this. If you are not convicted to tithe, then maybe you have allowed your heart to be hardened to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. See, from my research, a lot of the times we may not understand something, or cannot see God's glory in our lives or His will if we have hardened our hearts. The Gospels, Daniel and other places speak of this.

If you are not convicted to tithe, I ask you to just say a quick prayer from your heart. Ask God to soften your heart so that you can stay in His favor. Tell Him the truth. Tell him that you are afraid to tithe because you don't feel that you can afford it, or you don't agree with what your home church does with their finances, or whatever the case may be. I PROMISE you, tithe and you will see some awesome things! TEST HIM IN THIS!

-chris