DANTE: – Dante Alighieri is the tour guide of Hell. In fact you could say he is the creator of Hell if you did not understand he was directed and encouraged as others were being forced to write and create all manner of graven images and religious icons or treatises to support Hell, Satan and the whole dogma of ’sins and demons’. The Church owned all creative work because such creative things came from God and they were the representatives of this God. Nice scam if you can make it work – eh? Here is a little academic insight into how he also was tasked to diminish the perception of prior seers and wise people.

“Inferno XX falls into four narrative segments. Lines 1-30 present the sin of divination in general terms; lines 31-57 introduce famous diviners of antiquity, each of whom figures in and represents a major classical text: Amphiaraus from Statius’ Thebaid, Tiresias from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Arruns from Lucan’s Pharsalia, and Manto from Vergil’s Aeneid; lines 58-99 encompass the digression on Mantova; lines 100-130 contain Dante’s query regarding further diviners, and Vergil’s response, in which he names Eurypylus from the Aeneid and various contemporary practitioners. We note the canto’s symmetry; the general opening and closing sections, each of thirty lines, frame the more particularized interior sequences. The seemingly extraneous section on Mantova is thus entirely surrounded and informed by the commanding issue of prophecy, an issue which is directly related to the canto’s highlighting of poets and poetry, to its evocation of the classical auctores and to the arresting behavior of Vergil. For prophecy is in fact a textual issue; a profeta for Dante is one who foretells, who reads in the magno volume of God’s mind (Par. XV, 50), and deciphers the book of the future. Because prophecy is therefore essentially a matter of correct and incorrect reading, the canto’s emphasis on textuality is insistent: from the initial terzina, which proclaims in deliberately technical language the author’s need to make verse and give form to his twentieth canto, to the equally technical reference to the Aeneid as an alta trageda in line 113; if this is the only locus in the poem in which Dante affixes a numerical tag to a canto, it is also a unique definition of Vergil’s poem as a text belonging to a specific genre. Moreover, the textual awareness of the canto’s opening lines __ Di nova pena mi conven far versi / e dar matera al ventesimo canto / de la prima canzon __ is shared by its final verse: S mi parlava, e andavamo introcque. Here the presence of a word, introcque, whose use by the Florentines is caricatured in the De Vulgari Eloquentia, raises a host of questions about writing and genre, and serves to close the canto on the same textual key with which it began.

Inferno XX deals with the validity and legitimacy of the acts of writing and reading. As Hollander has shown, Dante evokes his classical auctores in order to correct them, misreading their texts in such a way as to damn diviners, like Amphiaraus and Tiresias, whom the ancients considered noble practitioners of the art, tellers of truth. By placing these diviners in the fourth bolgia, Dante establishes their falsity, and his disagreement on this score with his classical predecessors. One of the classical predecessors so invoked is Vergil, the Comedy’s resident poeta, and it is as his new self that Vergil retells the story of Manto, altering the earlier account found in the tenth book of the Aeneid. The Latin poem relates that the prophetess bears a child, Ocnus, who founds the city and gives it his mother’s name: qui muros matrisque dedit tibi, Mantua, nomen (who gave you walls and the name of his mother, O Mantua [Aen. X, 200]). The Comedy, on the other hand, relates that Manto, la vergine cruda (82), settled and died in a spot later chosen by men from the surrounding regions as suitable for a city: Fer la citt sovra quell’ ossa morte (91). Most interesting about Vergil’s speech is his closing injunction to the pilgrim to disregard all other accounts of Mantova’s founding; since the only true story is the one he has just heard, the pilgrim must let no lie defraud the truth, i.e. he must reject all other accounts as false (97-99):” (1)

Have you been watching the increase in Christianity in the United States of America? Well, this is interesting because recently on a trip to England I found most people had totally dismissed Christianity and many are adopting a more Jeti Religion approach to things; Let the Force be With You.

Pretty cool stuff if you ask me and it sure makes a lot of sense and why not make a religion out of science anyway, as it is pretty hard to refute it all and the evidence is all easily available. Does this mean that Christianity on Its Last Wave in the UK? Yes, pretty much that is what it means and it will be gone soon.

So Wave Goodbye to Christianity many of the social science professors are now saying and I bet we get a paradigm shift in the United States as well, as our scientists leave the storyline of religion, all religion, not just Christianity far behind. Some say the story of Baby Jesus and rising from the dead really does not pass the smell test of known science and seems a little bit of a fairytale as well?

Indeed it does sound like that. Nevertheless the recent increase in Christianity swung the pendulum too far out of sync with reality and so this is most likely the last hoorah and the end of Christianity, as we know it. Is that a bad thing? Hard to say, humans seem to like some sort of religion, yet perhaps no religion or a more reasonable one makes the most sense? Consider this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

All that we have and all that we are has come from God. He has blessed us with money and possessions, and he has given each of us specific talents and abilities. We have been called to be good stewards – to use our money, our time and our abilities as best we can to benefit God’s kingdom.

Giving tithes and offerings demonstrates our obedience to God, and the recognition that all we have has come from him. Giving our time in the Lord’s work, whether in ministry, helping those in need or greeting people at the Church door, shows our determination to follow the Lord’s teachings.

Why is it then, if we are happy to faithfully give our time and money, that so many Christians seem to have an issue when it comes to discussing wealth creation.

There seem to be two distinct lines of thought – the one promoted by many of the big name TV evangelists who promote the “prosperity” and “name it and claim it” teachings and the other viewpoint of many of the conservative Church officials who push the opinion that seeking wealth is ungodly.
Unfortunately both of these viewpoints seem to run contrary to the word, and to Jesus’ teachings about stewardship.

The “prosperity” teachers promote the idea that whatever you give to God, he will return to you many times over. Although this is close to the teaching of stewardship, which says that you should seek to multiply whatever God gives you, so that you can give him more back in return. It has been distorted, in as much as the actual motivation behind giving promoted by the prosperity teachers is self based (if I give more, God will give me more) instead of focusing on Christ. There is a huge difference between giving to get more, and working to increase your means so that you can give more to further the works of the kingdom.

Some now try to imply that if you are not prosperous, then your walk with the Lord must be lacking in some area, and others at the other end of the spectrum are always making condemning statements about the evils of being rich.

We need to really look at what the word says, and the examples that Jesus gave.
I firmly believe that the enemy wants to deter us from aiming to invest and make our wealth grow, as he does not want us to be successful. He doesn’t want us making lots of money that we can use for the Lord’s work. He doesn’t want us to be able to fund mission outreaches or to feed the poor or to fund Christian satellite TV channels. Some Christians seem to have the misconception that being wealthy is evil and being poor is holy. There is nothing holy about being poor. God doesn’t want his children to be in poverty. A rich person has far more power at their disposal to be able to help where financial assistance is needed than a poor person. At the same time though we need to make sure that our motivation for creating wealth is to “get so we can give” as opposed to the prosperity teachers notion that we should “give so we can get”. As long as we do not idolise money, and retain the truth that all we have has come from God anyway, then there is no need to feel any guilt about how much money we make.

There are many examples in the Bible that show God’s desire to bless his faithful followers with wealth:
(Gen 39:2) “And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.”

(Deu 29:9) “Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do”.

(2 Chr 26:5) “And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper”.

and 1 Kings 3:13 “And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days”.

God loves to bless his children, especially if we in return are happy to bless others. Therefore there is absolutely nothing wrong with setting goals to be good stewards and create wealth to give back to our creator. In fact, as stewards of the resources God has given us, it is actually our responsibility to aim at increasing what we have.

We should be seeking to be successful for God. To genuinely set goals for investing both our money and time into the kingdom of God. The best way to increase your monetary wealth is not to go asking the boss for a pay rise, but rather to start a regular investment program. More important still, is to learn how to invest wisely and not be wasteful with our resources.

Before you can start investing you need to make some money available. One of the most effective methods it to use the 10/10/80 Plan. 10% of your income to God, 10% for investing and live off the remaining 80% of your income. This may take a little time to adjust to, but when you consider the long terms results that you will achieve once you start investing, you will find that it is extremely worthwhile.
You will have all heard the expression that “The second million is always easier than the first”. This is absolutely true – the reason being is that it is compounding interest that has the greatest power to create wealth, and the more you have invested that compounding can work on – the quicker your wealth will grow.

In mathematical terms 72 divided by Compound Interest Rate of Return = Years for Money to Double in Value.

Therefore if you have an investment growing at 10% compound interest, it will double in value in 7.2 years (quadruple in 14.4 years and be worth eight times as much in 21.6 years). If it is growing at 12% it will double in 6 years.

John D Rockefeller who was once one of America’s richest men said that “Compound Interest is the Eighth Wonder of the World”.

Einstein once said, “The most powerful concept or principle in the world that I am aware of is that of compound interest”.

When deciding on the best areas to invest in, it is worth taking into consideration the fact that over 90% of the world’s millionaires have made their money through property.

In Australia over the past 50 years property has averaged 10% p.a. compound growth. (Carefully selected properties have averaged even greater returns). Not forgetting that investment properties will also be generating an income from rent.

Median priced property has averaged growing at a rate of 2 – 4% p.a. higher than inflation, making it a very solid investment.

I believe the most effective way to build riches is to accumulate a portfolio of investment properties (over the space of 7 to10 years) and then let the power of Compound Interest work to your benefit.
It is possible to borrow 100% of the purchase price of a property plus expenses by securing the deposit against your own home, so that you don’t have to come up with a cash deposit.

There are many different strategies for property investing, which suit different people depending on their current income or financial position.

God will give you the wisdom to decide on the best strategies for your situation if you put in the time and effort to learn as much as you can and seek his direction. It is wise to also seek professional advice, as rules and regulations and tax effectiveness will vary between nations.

The main reason that property can be utilised more effectively than shares as an investment, is due to the added benefit of being able to highly gear an investment property.

Gearing or leveraging is where you use a small portion of your own money along with a large portion of someone else’s money (in this case a loan from the bank) to secure an investment of a far greater value than you could have using only you own money.

If you had $10,000 to invest and invested it directly into shares that were growing at 10%, then in 7.2 years they would be worth around $20,000. On the other hand if you had used that $10,000.00 as 5% deposit on a $200,000.00 property and had borrowed the remaining 95% plus establishment costs. If this also grew at 10% then in 7.2 years your investment would be worth $400,000.00. Meaning that by leveraging your investment you have gained an additional $190,000.00.

Keep in mind here that there are two types of Debt. Good Debt is where you have borrowed funds to secure a capitally appreciating, income producing asset. Bad Debt is where you borrow to buy a capitally depreciating, non-income producing item such as a car, boat or holiday.

A combination of using Good Debt to buy property and then allowing Compounding to do its work – seems to be a most effective way of creating wealth. But this is definitely not a “Get rich quick scheme”, on the contrary it is a “Get rich slowly” scheme which works most effectively over a 10 to 20 year period. It takes patience and perseverance, but after having spoken to dozens of other property investors, many of whom have become multi millionaires within the space of 10 to 15 years, I am certain that it is worthwhile.

I believe God wants to start shifting the wealth of this world into the hands of Christians, who can plant it back into his kingdom.

Debra Lohrere is the author of “Creating Wealth through Property Investment”, “How to Research Investment Properties” and “Peace, Prophecy and False Fire”. Please visit her homepage http://www.debra.lohrere.com/home.shtml or storefront at http://www.lulu.com/DebraLohrere.

G-d spoke to Moses and He said to him, “I am Hashem. I appeared
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as the Almighty God, but
through My name Hashem, I did not become known to them.” (Shemot
6:2-3)

Rashi states: I was not recognized by them in my aspect of truth
by which My name is called Hashem, which means that I am
faithful to uphold My words, for I promised them, but have not
yet fulfilled my promise (ie. while they were alive).

Rav Yerucham Levovitz the Mirrer mashgiach in his sefer Das
Torah writes that we can learn from here that G-d’s attribute of
being “faithful to uphold His words” is so real that it even has
its own name. In other words, it is an undisputable fact and
reality that Hashem will fulfill that which He promises. There
is not even the slightest possibility that an all-powerful
Creator could be stopped from establishing that which He has
guaranteed.

Believing in Hashem at this level is not an easy accomplishment.
Even though the logic makes sense, on an emotional level it may
be hard for us to believe that all which the Torah says will be
will eventually come to be. But the fact is, that all these
promises are so real it’s as if they have already been
established. The only thing which is missing is the time!

Application:

What would you do different if you “really” believed the Torah
was true?

If I believed the blessings and rewards in the Torah were true I
would …

If I believed the curses and punishments in the Torah were true
I would …

The Issue of the Temple Mount

by Rabbi Levi Zipperstein

Introduction

The common knowledge of our time is that the vast majority of Rabbis of this generation have prohibited the Jewish people from entering the Temple Mount (Har HaBayit), the holiest site in Judaism. The Temple Mount is the site of where the Beit HaMikdash (the Jewish Temple) once stood and the place where the Moslems have erected one mosque, the al-Aqsa and a site of pilgrimage, the Dome of the Rock. The supposed restriction of Jewish entrance imposed by the rabbis has been proclaimed because under usual circumstances, when the Temple is standing, a level of holiness must be attained before permission is granted to a Jew to enter the area. There are greater and lesser restrictions according to the place one seeks to go on the Temple Mount. The Rabbis state that since the actual location of the Temple structure is not known for certain, it is unclear where a Jew may go without first attaining the most extreme level of purification (mandated by Jewish Law when entering the confines of certain areas of the Mount and when the areas are either under the sovereignty of the Jewish people or the Temple is standing). Therefore, Rabbis have pronounced the prohibition that a Jew must not walk on the entire area of the Temple Mount. The assumed conclusion regarding the Temple Mount is that no Jew should shoulder the risk of incurring the punishment of Kareit. Kareit is the divine punishment of cutting off of one’s soul from the World to come and is imposed upon a Jew entering the confines of certain areas of the Temple Mount in an impure state. These laws apply during normal circumstances. Let it be clear that normal circumstances in Jewish law assumes the existence of the Temple and the practices that accompany it.

It is the purpose of this article to analyze the issues and sources concerning entering the Temple Mount. Upon reading the following pages the reader will, with God’s help, understand the position of the Rabbis of our generation and compare them to the positions of the Rabbis of previous generations. The issues are not complicated for the halakha (Jewish law) is clear regarding the entrance of a Jew on the Temple Mount. The intellectually honest reader will discover that the issue of the Temple Mount plays a central role in the modern Jewish problem in relation to traditional Jewish thought. Additionally, it is hoped that the conclusions reached in this most important analysis will foster the needed courage required to make that which is wrong, right and that which is a desecration, a sanctification.

The Rabbis of Silence

The impression that world Jewry now maintains concerning the issue of entering and maintaining control over the Temple Mount is a false one. It is additionally false to assume that there is but a single voice on this matter. In contradiction to the prevailing idea that all contemporary Rabbis have forbidden entrance to the Temple Mount, we find the following modern Rabbinical opinions:

Mordechai Eliyahu, former Chief Rabbi of Israel, after reading about Jews going up to the Temple Mount wrote, “I am happy to hear about your yearning for Zion, however we must protect that the Children of Israel will enter the permitted places in purity and holiness. Hashem should strengthen you and He should be with you. Amen, it should be His will.”

Shlomo Goren, z”l, former Chief Rabbi of Israel, wrote: “I hereby, notify that because of the danger of a takeover of the Temple Mount by the Moslems and despite the halakhic rules that would apply for the purpose of protecting the Jewish sovereignty it is not only permitted, but it is a holy commandment (mitzvah) to go up to the Temple Mount. We learn that to protect the Temple it is permitted to enter even the Holy of Holies. So much more so to enter the Temple Mount in order to stop an Arab takeover and protect our sovereignty, it is permitted and a commandment. Concerning us, when the purpose is to free the Temple Mount from a takeover by the goyim, the more Knesset members and other Jews that go up will bring a greater result. The suggestion is not to enter with leather shoes and to go to the Mikvah the same day.”

Menachem Mendel Schneerson, z”l, the Lubavitch Rebbe, during Sukkot speech of 5751 (1990), told the Jewish people to go to the “Place of the Temple,” in the permitted areas, and celebrate the Simchat Beit Hashoeva (celebration of the water drawing) in the greatest and highest level of happiness. The Rebbe continued, insisting that by doing so, the rebuilding of the Temple and coming of the Mashiach will be hastened.

Chaim David Halevi, Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv & Jaffa, wrote: “The law pertaining to entering the Temple Mount is one of the simplest and clearest. It is known that we aren’t allowed to make a decree by ourselves, to forbid the permitted. It is incumbent upon the people in charge to devote their time and energies and make every effort possible to allow and encourage B’nai Yisrael to enter the permitted areas.”

David Chaim Shlush, the Chief Rabbi of Netanya, wrote: “It is good to be accustomed to going up to the Temple Mount in our times to the permitted places.”

Avraham Shalom David, the Rabbi of Kiryat Moshe, Jerusalem, wrote: “I read the material on the Temple Mount and I, hereby, join the recommendation of the Chief Rabbi to go up to the Temple Mount to the permitted places and Hashem will be with you. Amen, it should be his will.”

Yichya Alsheich, the Kabbalist, wrote: “The Rabbis permitted the sacrificing of the Passover offering and the daily Tamid offering on the spot of the altar. We are allowed to go up to the Temple Mount to search for the spot of the altar and to make the preparations that are required for such. Hashem should give you favor, kindness, and grant success so we should merit through the rebuilding of the Temple, speedily in our times, Amen.”

Levi Nachmani, Rosh Yeshiva of Pnaecha Ya’acov, wrote: “Since the conquest of Jerusalem, the requirement to build the Temple and to bring sacrifices has been renewed. There is a special requirement of the Bet-din (Rabbinate) of the generation and the Kohanim. Negligence in building the Temple will bring punishment. The commandment of conquering the Land of Israel cancels Shabbat and therefore cancels the prohibition of impurity. It is therefore worthy of every man and woman to go up to the Mount and show a constant Jewish presence and thus to prove the ownership of Am Yisrael over the Temple Mount can be even without going to the Mikvah. The one who goes up to the Temple Mount after going to the Mikvah is even better. Hashem should allow us to witness speedily the full sovereignty of the People of Israel over the Temple Mount, the Temple built in its place and the sacrifices renewed speedily in our times, Amen.”

Eliyahu Shlomo Ra’anan, grandson of Rav Kook, z”l, wrote: “I, hereby, join the call from the Rabbis recommending to go up to the Temple Mount, into permitted areas, because it is clear without any shadow of a doubt. My grandfather, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, z”l, and his son, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook, z”l, never said that the Aliyah to the permitted spots if forbidden. It is surely a great mitzvah to free the holiest site from the goyim, but done in the proper way…”

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE RABBIS?

How can one explain the inaction of those rabbis who agree that we can enter the Temple Mount? How can one explain those who distort the truth and prohibit the entrance of Jews to the Temple Mount? After 2,000 years of prayers asking that God return us to Zion and speedily rebuild the Temple, what excuse could there be for preferring the Wall of Tears over the House of God?

The best answer can be found in the book, Ame Banim Smecha, written by Rabbi Yisachar Teichtel. Rabbi Teichtel was a Chasid who lived in Hungary and perished in the holocaust. While on the run from the Nazis, he wrote a powerful book quoting his sources from memory. He confronts the question that haunts many Jews: “why were so many religious Jews and Torah scholars killed during the holocaust?” His answer is unequivocal, the religious Jews and the Torah scholars watched the secular Zionists return to Zion; and they did not learn from their actions. Jews who prayed thrice daily for the return to Zion should have immediately realized that if secular Jews are leaving the exile, how much more so should they. By turning their backs on the Land of Israel, Rabbi Teichtel writes, their fate was sealed. God hates hypocrisy and punishes those who invoke his name in vain. And so they stayed in exile to be consumed by the fires of the Holocaust.

Many religious Jews yet maintain the false interpretation of Jewish texts that the Temple will fall from heaven when God deems it proper. This belief is akin to those who maintained that while sitting in exile there would appear the wings of an eagle, which would scoop them up and whirl them off to the Land of Israel. Obviously, the latter never happened and the former is even less likely to occur. The literal interpretation of parabolic literature is forbidden by Jewish thought. However, it is not the purpose of this work to delve into the intricacies and the failings of contemporary religious and Torah thought. It is enough that we realize that this thought has caused the Torah world to miss the opportunity to define the meaning of the return to the Land as it ought to be defined, in Torah terms. They turned their back on the building of a nation while leaving it in the hands of those whose socialist visions clouded their thoughts and blurred their vision. Added to this disgrace, the Torah world has now left the Temple Mount in the hands of those that would not recognize a Jewish concept even if it were placed in red dressing gowns. It is those self-hating Jews who have now turned over the holiest place in Judaism to the enemies of the Jewish people. The Temple remains in ruins while alien buildings of other nations sit in its place.

CONCLUSION

There is but one way to redeem the Temple Mount and but one way to renew the sacrifices and build the Temple. We must act in an authentically Jewish manner. Remaining in a state of atrophy will not only allow the status quo to continue, it will cause needless and unimaginable suffering to the Jewish people. Just as we witnessed the destruction of six million Jews because of inaction concerning the return to Zion, so will we endure terrible tragedy should we opt for the same inaction concerning the Temple Mount.

This is not an argument between Jew and Arab, nor between Judaism and Islam, but rather it is a question of religious fulfillment. If the Mount is redeemed and the Temple replaces the desecrations that now stand in its place, then the Jewish obligation to the God of Israel is attained, but should we leave the mosques in place and the Mount in the hand of the stranger, then we will be desecrating God’s name by declaring that the Jewish people are unable and unwilling to do that which God has commanded. The fate and destiny of the Jewish people are in the hands of each and every Jew. All that is required is will and faith of Jews to enter the Temple Mount in large numbers until the day, with God’s help, that we are able to demand its return to its rightful owners. If every one would make the commitment needed to redeem the Mount it will surely and speedily be in our hands.

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Some thoughts on the impact of Charity © 2002 C.J.L.J.Rao

Many of us spend most of our time thinking on tactics and strategies to increase our earnings or income online. But, we don’t spend the same amount of time thinking of giving portions of our earnings to the poor and needy.

I hope you won’t be surprised if I say “The More You Give offline or online, The More You Will Receive.”

The Bible says “He that hath pity on the poor lendeth unto the Lord; And that which he hath given will He pay him again.” (Proverbs 19:17)

This means that how much ever money or goods we give to the poor and needy people, that much money or goods God is going to give back to us. He will definitely repay you, maybe more than you can imagine.

The Bible says “There is that scattereth and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it lendeth to poverty.” (Proverbs 11:24)

This means that the person who spent his earnings on charity by giving to the poor has increased his income. On the other hand, the person who kept his earnings with himself more than that was necessary to him and therefore became poor.

The Bible says “The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.” (Proverbs 11:25)

This means that everything related to a generous person shall be made fat. And, he that provides help in whatever way or kind to others shall be helped by God.

The Bible says “Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase; so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.” (Proverbs 3:9, 10)

This means that you have to honour God by giving your income by first sale to Him. And, you have to set apart your first increases of every venture for charitable cause. Then, the All-knowing God who is watching over you all the time shall reward you with plenty of further increases in income and with more new sales.

The Bible says “Blessed is he that considereth the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth; and the Lord will not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.” (Psalms 41:12)

The above verse is self-explanatory.

The Bible says “But, whosoever hath the worlds good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him ? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” (I John 3:17, 18).

This means that if you have enough and do not consider the poor and needy, then you do not have the love of God in you. You are loving God with mere words and not in truth.

Now, there are two important points to be considered before giving to charity :-

1) The Bible says “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:1, 4)

This means that you must give in secret and not before men or to be seen of people. If you are seen by people, then you already recieve your reward from people. If you are not seen by people, then the Almighty God who sees you shall reward you in secret. It is the reward from God that you must seek for and not the reward from people. Therefore, let your giving be unknown to others.

2) The Bible says “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (II Corinthians 9:6, 7)

This means that if you give less, you will recieve less and if you give more you will recieve more. And, you will be appreciated by God, if you give happily. If you give unhappily and complainingly, then it is better you don’t give at all for you shall receive nothing in return.

The Bible was written by God-chosen men and contains the words of Almighty God Himself. Therefore, these words never fail. God himself is the 100% guarantee for these words.

So, my dear friend, if you do not give due importance to charity then you lose the chances of receiving the above mentioned blessings which God has in store for you.

The choice is yours…..

Pardon me if I have hit you hard at some places. The Bible says “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” (Proverbs 27:6). And also, that “He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.”

—————————————————————– —————————————————————– ———————————————————- C.J.L.J.Rao is the Owner of a small internet business online which provides the netizens with resources for building income on the web. Send me email – cjljrao@yahoo.com Visit My Website – http://earningcashonline.cjb.net

How do we know that God and His Son loves us? It is quite simple. Just read the Bible and you will see that it is, in many respects, a love letter to His creation – man. We see that the Bible is brimming with indications of love from God and Jesus Christ. Have you ever had a prayer answered? I have, and many times in an awesome way. Have you ever been delivered from what seemed like eminent danger. Again, I have on several occasions. These are also indications of God’s love.

But how does God and Jesus know that we love Them? Jesus told us how, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) In this article I would like to share with you many of the commandments of Jesus, some that I feel, if we keep them, will show our love for Him. Now I don’t mean this in the legalistic since, that you must do each of these or your soul is forever damned. But in the spiritual since, that by keeping these, it is an act of love for God and His Son. Nor do I mean them in the since that we must do these things in order to “guarantee” salvation. We are not talking about salvation in this article, we are talking about showing our love for God.

“… Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) Being human, it is impossible to live a life free of sin. Even after we give our lives over to Jesus, all too often sin creeps in. Sin wreaks marriages and destroys lives. But the Bible tells us that if we will repent and ask for forgiveness of our sins, God is faithful to forgive us. Our daily prayers should include asking God for forgiveness for those areas in our lives where we fall short of the glory of the kingdom of God. I’m afraid that many Christians have the attitude that they have been forgiven for the “big sins,” and they don’t really do anything “all that bad,” so they don’t really need to ask God for forgiveness. I disagree! It’s those “little things” that we do, that we shrug off as nothing, that begin to pile up in our conscience and begin to eat away at our relationship with God. Then, before we realize it, a “big” temptation comes along and the devil catches us off guard and unprepared to resist. The Bible also teaches us that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. However, to resist or not resist is still up to us. If we allow sin to creep into our lives, and continually fail to ask God’s forgiveness, then when that “big” temptation comes along, we haven’t prepared ourselves to resist. By repenting each day for our shortcomings, we show God that we want to remain close to Him, and that we love Him.

“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) As you read the above scripture, don’t get hung-up on “your good works.” The real emphasis here is on “glorify your Father in Heaven.” We must realize that without God, most (if not all) of what we are able to accomplish as Christians for the kingdom is impossible. But, we should strive to do those “good works” so that we can bring glory to our Heavenly Father. As we go about our lives seeking ways to help others in need, serving the Lord through our local congregations, and witnessing to the lost, we are bringing glory to God. People come to realize that we are doing these good works because we love God, and this brings Him glory.

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…” (Matthew 5:44) Probably one of the most difficult commands for us to follow, is to love our enemies. However, this is so important. The Bible goes on in this passage (see verses 46-48) and explains that if we love those who love us, we have really accomplished nothing. Even non-Christians do this. It is easy to love those who love us, but we really show our Christian fiber when we can suppress the natural inclination to hate our enemies and love and pray for them. By doing this, we put God first instead of ourselves and this shows our love for Him.

“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6) Our prayer life is so important. It is through prayer that we tell our Heavenly Father all those things that we only want Him to hear. Please remember, God already knows everything about us. We can’t keep secrets from Him. There are things in our lives that we can’t talk about even with our closest friend, but we can talk to God about them. If we share all our troubles, joys, victories, fears, (in short everything) with God, we will begin to experience a wonderful love and closeness to Him. God wants us to be free to carry everything to Him in prayer.

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:20) There are many stories around that talk about what heaven will be like. The Bible even refers to mansions, walls of jasper and streets of gold. But I don’t think this is what Jesus is referring to in this passage. I think the above descriptions are in the Bible to give us the understanding that Heaven will be a beautiful place, not that we will own (or even want to) gold, jasper, and the like.

Let us consider for a moment what a treasure is and why we want them. Think back for a moment about all the stories you’ve ever heard about treasures. What are some characteristics of treasures? We don’t necessarily know what is in the treasure. We do know that to be a treasure, it has to be “fantastic.” We know that we would like to have, whatever it is, very much. We could go on, but I think you get the picture. The main point is that a treasure is something that we “set our heart on.” To us, it is something that we really want. It is something that we think about, hope for, dream about, talk about, and plan how we will use it. In other words, it consumes us entirely.

Jesus is trying to tell us in this passage that those things that consume us, as a treasure does, should be those things which have to do with Heaven. Such things as being with God and His Son and joining with the angels to sing praises to Him. We should not let our lives here on earth be consumed by those things which pass away: money, jobs, family, clothes, boats, cars, houses, friends, vacations, food, habits, feelings, and the list could go on forever. We need to let our lives be consumed by the thought of, and the longing for eternal life with our Heavenly Father.

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25) This passage and thought is really a continuation of the above passage. First Jesus tells us not to let life’s desirable things consume us, then He says don’t let life’s bad things consume us either. We should not put our efforts into worrying about life’s problems. God will take care of our daily needs, on this you can rest assured. Are there going to be troubles in life? You better believe it! But don’t worry about it. Live each day in God’s grace, and follow His commandments, and He will provide for you and help you bear up under life’s problems. Worry indicates that we really don’t have faith that God will provide. We do not show God love by worrying, we show Him love by having faith and not worrying.

“Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1) “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how do you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck out of your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5) What in the world does this passage have to do with showing love for God? Well, let’s consider this. If we are judgmental and critical of our brothers and sisters in Christ, it tears down the church. We all have things in our lives which are not right, planks in our eye. How can we see clearly (because of our sin) to be able to rightly judge our brother or sister? How do we know what they are really dealing with, the concerns they have, and the problems they have to overcome? The answer to both is that we can’t. Since we can’t be a righteous judge, we do our brothers and sisters wrong by trying to judge them. Instead of judging them we should pray for them and ask God to help them and guide them to the right answers. This is showing love for both God and our brothers and sisters.

“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12) If every person on earth would follow this command of Jesus, we would have Heaven here on earth. Every ill on earth is a result of us (as humans) not caring for our fellow man. All the greed, envy, jealously, hatred, and strife would end. If we as Christians would follow this command, the church would not have the strife it has as well. By treating our fellow Christians as we would like to be treated, we are truly showing love for them. By treating those outside of Christ, and our enemies too, the way we would like to be treated, we again show love. Jesus told us to love all people. How can we? Read this passage again!

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15) If we really love God, we will do everything in our power to keep ourselves true to the doctrine as given in the Bible. The Bible is God’s word. To allow false teachers to destroy its meaning, to distort its teachings, and to attribute ideas to God which are not true, is to put ourselves and others in danger of loosing salvation. God is loving and righteous, but He is also just. If you or I follow a false teaching, even if it is taught as if it came from God, we are putting ourselves in jeopardy. Let’s make every effort to “rightly divide the word of truth.”

“Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:38) We need to keep the lost in our prayers daily. Not just “the lost” as un-named people, but those we know have not accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. Peter tells us in his second epistle that God does not want anyone to perish. Therefore, if God loves all people (and He does), then we should join in through prayer for harvesters. But, we should be one of those harvesters!

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) This is one of my most favorite scriptures in the Bible. If every Christian would follow this command, the troubles of the church would be over. If we would follow this command, we would honestly show our love for God.

I hope that you have never thought to yourself, “I love God but I don’t know how to show Him.” But if you have, then I pray that what I have said to you through this article has helped show that we can truly demonstrate our love for God and His Son each and every day. I hope that we can live each day in the fullness of God’s love. At the close of each day as we reflect on the day’s activity let us truly be able to say, “Today I told God that I love Him by the manner in which I have lived this day.”

All scriptures quoted are from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.