How Are we Suppose To Use Giving Statments

Ok, this has been on my mind for awhile, it always seem to bother me when I am asked to make sure my address is correct on the giving form, whether tithe or offerings, to make sure that I get my "statement" that tells the government what a great person I am and that they should give me a tax break because of it. I am fully aware that I might ruffle some feather and if I do...then so be it, maybe God is trying to tell you something... :)

I do understand that the Churches have to provide those because the government requires it and that part is Biblical; Jesus teaches us that we should respect all authority (Romans 13) I am not really sure how it works and if the Churches are require to produce a statement for everyone who gives or if it could be optional, which would also help being good stuarts of God's money.

So, maybe I am miss understanding how we are suppose to use these statements and maybe there is somewhere in the Bible where it is all explained and I just haven't found it yet, so please, if you know something I don't, put it in the comments section below.

Thank you for your help!

Daniel's Story

One of my favorite story of the Bible is found in the book of Daniel, chapter 3. It is the story of Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego that were thrown in the fiery furnace because they refused to bow down to the gold statue that king Nebuchadnezzar had made of himself, but they came out unbound and unharmed.


But there are another important lessons in the book of Daniel. The attitude Daniel and his friends had and also their faithful service to God ;


After telling the king his dream, Daniel was put in charged of the king's affair. How easy it would have been for Daniel to take credit for it, and to forget about his friends...But he gave credit to God and made sure his friends would also be taken care off (Daniel: 2). I believe that, because he was serving God so faithfully, God was walking along side with Daniel and was guiding him as were Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego, their attitude toward the king was respectful, because they knew well the God the were serving, they could tell the king that they would not bow down to him, but they did that in a respectful manner; they were respecting the earthly king while serving the Heavenly King. (Daniel: 3)

These are just a few attitudes that God teaches throughout His love letter to us.

I am leaving you with these thoughts, I have to go do my attitude check and make sure it lines up with God's!

Serving is also Seeking

One of the time I feel closer to God is when I serve Him (which also mean His people). It takes my focus away from myself and make me realize that my circumstances aren't that bad after all. The other morning, God whispered the following to my heart, I wanted to share it with you because it helped me discover another way to seek Him, This is what He whispered; "Take your eyes off of yourself and start serving. Why worry about what you can or cannot accomplish, you are distrusting Me when you do that. Stop focusing on you and start looking for ways to help others, to serve them as my Son Jesus did." (My paraphrase) This is also what He meant when He said; "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." - Matthew 6:33 When you serve others, you are telling God, "I trust that you will meet my needs, therefore, I don not need to only be focused on myself and my circumstances." You are also experiencing Jesus' life at it's core, what greater sacrifice of serving is there then dying on the cross for the sins of a nation? Now, of course God is not asking us to do anything as drastic, but He is requiring us to mold our lives in the likeness of His Son. So start serving Him today, and see how great it is!!

Matthew 9:18-26; What God has been teaching me.

Only 8 verses and yet so many different things are taught in those verses.

1-First, there is great Trust from the leader of a synagogue in verse 18: “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” (Matthew 9:18) He trusted Jesus to bring his daughter back to life.

2-Jesus was already busy teaching, but in verse 19 it says: Jesus got up and went with him (Matthew 9:19) Jesus showed Selflessness; he left what he was doing to help someone else.

3-In the same verse 19, we see Devotion from Jesus’ disciples; Jesus got up and went with him, and s so did his disciples (Matthew 9:19)They were devoted to Jesus and went with him wherever he went, learning along the way how to be more like Him.

4-In verse 20, we see Endurance; Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. (Matthew 9:20) I can only imagine what it must have been for her to have to live that way for so long without giving up hope!

5-And then a great example of Faith in verse 21: For she thought; “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”(Matthew 9:21) Notice how she didn’t say “I might be healed” but “I will be healed”

6-Love: Even though Jesus was answering to a pretty urgent matter, He took the time to acknowledge the woman; Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment. (Matthew 9:22) Never think that God is too busy to answer your prayer, He Loves’ you! Jesus gives a great example here, but notice that she also played a part in it; “your faith has healed you.”

7-In the next two verses, we see Jesus’ Authority and Boldness; when Jesus arrived at the official’s home, he saw the noisy crowd and heard the funeral music. “Get Out!” he told them. “The girl isn’t dead; she is only asleep.” But the crowd laugh at him. (Matthew 9:23-24)Notice how he is not asking them to leave? He is ordering them to! Does that mean we should go around bossing people? No, it simply means that you were given the authority to cast down what is negative in our lives. They were being noisy and were playing funeral music; basically they were disturbing and depressing so Jesus ordered them out! Next, he tells them she is only asleep, he already knew they were going to laugh at him, but he said it anyway, he didn’t have to, he could’ve just go in the house and raise her to life, but I believe he said it to show them the wickedness and unbelief they had in their hearts.

8-The last two verses shows both, the result and the impact all the previous actions had; After the crowd was put outside, however, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up! The report of this miracle swept through the entire country side. (Matthew 9:25-26) Victory! The name of Jesus and his power is being proclaimed throughout the entire country side! But it wasn’t a straight, none stop, shot, the road that was traveled, had a few stops, afew diversion, other very important actions taken along the way, but Jesus never lost the focus of his ultimat mission . So whenever we are on a journey, we should be careful not to only focus on the destiny, but to acknowledge every opportunity God put in our path and act on it, we never know how it can impact others or even our destiny.

Please leave comments, thoughts, ideas below. You can share what God has been teaching you.