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Re: First Quarter 2018 - Stewardship - Motives of the Heart
[Re: Daryl]
#186187
03/14/18 03:23 PM
03/14/18 03:23 PM
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https://ssnet.org/lessons/18a/less11.htmlWe should do all that we can to avoid debt. Of course, in certain circumstances, such as buying a house or a car, building a church, or getting an education, we need to borrow money.
Agree or disagree that we need to borrow money to buy a car? How could buying a car be considered differently than buying a house? What about a church? How far should one go into debt for buying a church? One went 4 million. Hmmm... Wise? But it must be done as wisely as possible, with the intent of getting out of the debt as soon as possible.
Implying that going into debt involves a certain degree of 'unwiseness'? Why does he (Goldstein, no doubt) use such constructs? What if he had said, But it must be done wisely, with the intent of getting out of the debt as soon as possible.
But by using "as wisely as possible" requires it to mean something differently. The recent construct, "Honest" tithe, is brought to mind...
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Re: First Quarter 2018 - Stewardship - Motives of the Heart
[Re: Daryl]
#186198
03/16/18 02:01 PM
03/16/18 02:01 PM
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From a few lessons back Friday's February 23: “Time is rapidly passing into eternity. Let us not keep back from God that which is His own. Let us not refuse Him that which, though it cannot be given without merit, cannot be denied without ruin. He asks for a whole heart; give it to Him; it is His, both by creation and by redemption. He asks for your intellect; give it to Him; it is His. He asks for your money; give it to Him; it is His.” - Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 566. What does Ellen G. White mean when she says, “Let us not keep back from God that which is His own . . . though it cannot be given without merit, cannot be denied without ruin”? What do we rob ourselves of when we do not tithe?
Time is rapidly passing into eternity. Let us not keep back from God that which is His own. Let us not refuse Him that which, though it cannot be given with merit, cannot be denied without ruin. He asks for a whole heart; give it to Him; it is His, both by creation and by redemption. He asks for your intellect; give it to Him; it is His.
Did anyone else stumble over trying to understand the lesson's version and so looked it up? That is, what could, "cannot be given without merit" mean? Can be given with merit? Why did he change the words? Is he trying to say we earn merit by giving money to the church? Ellen White is contrasting opposites, but he is making it into parallel comparisons.
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Re: First Quarter 2018 - Stewardship - Motives of the Heart
[Re: Daryl]
#186199
03/16/18 02:36 PM
03/16/18 02:36 PM
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Tuesday's The wealthy can live within their means out of their wealth. Their problem is that they always are worrying about their wealth and how to keep it. When people have very little and live from paycheck to paycheck, they worry about sustaining life, not wealth.
Who doesn't live from paycheck to paycheck - other than those who die? If it means that some spend up all their income, people can make 300K a year and be dead broke. The amount of income does not reflect whether someone lives within their means.
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Re: First Quarter 2018 - Stewardship - Motives of the Heart
[Re: kland]
#186207
03/16/18 05:59 PM
03/16/18 05:59 PM
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From a few lessons back Friday's February 23: “Time is rapidly passing into eternity. Let us not keep back from God that which is His own. Let us not refuse Him that which, though it cannot be given without merit, cannot be denied without ruin. He asks for a whole heart; give it to Him; it is His, both by creation and by redemption. He asks for your intellect; give it to Him; it is His. He asks for your money; give it to Him; it is His.” - Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 566. What does Ellen G. White mean when she says, “Let us not keep back from God that which is His own . . . though it cannot be given without merit, cannot be denied without ruin”? What do we rob ourselves of when we do not tithe?
Time is rapidly passing into eternity. Let us not keep back from God that which is His own. Let us not refuse Him that which, though it cannot be given with merit, cannot be denied without ruin. He asks for a whole heart; give it to Him; it is His, both by creation and by redemption. He asks for your intellect; give it to Him; it is His.
Did anyone else stumble over trying to understand the lesson's version and so looked it up? That is, what could, "cannot be given without merit" mean? Can be given with merit? Why did he change the words? Is he trying to say we earn merit by giving money to the church? Ellen White is contrasting opposites, but he is making it into parallel comparisons. Graphically, from the positive angle:Time is rapidly passing into eternity. Let us give to God that which is His own. Let us give Him:
1. our whole heart 2. our intellect 3. our money
They are His by creation and redemption. All we have are His.
Therefore, we cannot them to Him in order to receive a merit badge "in recognition of our charity"; but if we withhold them from Him, we will only ruin ourselves for all eternity.
So then, though we give without thought of reward, yet our reward for giving is sure.It's a paradox. They cannot be given with merit, though they are never given without merit.///
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Re: First Quarter 2018 - Stewardship - Motives of the Heart
[Re: James Peterson]
#186208
03/16/18 06:10 PM
03/16/18 06:10 PM
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Re: First Quarter 2018 - Stewardship - Motives of the Heart
[Re: Daryl]
#186257
03/23/18 08:15 AM
03/23/18 08:15 AM
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Read Matthew 22:37-38; Acts 17:28; Ephesians 5:15-17; and Colossians 3:23. What is said here that can help us understand how to put God first in our lives? "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind." "For in Him we move and live, and have our being, as also some of you on poets have said, we are also His offspring. "Therefore, be not unwise, but understand what the will of God is. "And whatever you do, do it heartily as unto the Lord, not to men.
To paraphrase and personalize a quote from Desire of Ages page 103. When we take the time to look upon the King of the universe in His beauty, self is forgotten. When we behold the majesty of holiness, our self righteous pride is laid low and we feel inefficient and unworthy. Now, depending upon the One we have been in close communion with, we are prepared to go forth as Heaven's messenger, unawed by the human, because we have looked upon the Divine. We could stand erect and fearless in the presence of influential people, because we had bowed low before the King of kings. The main idea centers on who do we love the most -- God or self? The way for love for God to grow in hearts and minds is by fellowshipping with HIM, daily, by reading His letters and talking with Him through prayer.
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