What comes to mind when you think of a robber or thief? We might visualize a bank robber, a house burglar, or even a shop-lifter. But could you imagine one of your fellow church members, or even yourself, as a robber? It may seem impossible, yet the scripture below clearly states that all those who do not pay their tithes have robbed God."Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, In what way have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.
I call to mind that I am not self-existent; only the triune God is. Only God is absolute, but I am contingent. I remind myself that I am utterly dependent on God for my origin and for my present and future existence. I call this to mind and ponder its truth.
Carved in the bark of every tree in the garden of God are the words, "If it dies it bears much fruit" (John 12:24). Three words are branded into the flesh of every Christian: "YOU ... HAVE ... DIED" (Colossians 3:3). And the heartfelt confession of every believer is, "I have been crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20).
But what does this mean? Who died when I became a Christian? Answer: my "flesh" died. "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified THE FLESH" (Galatians 5:24).
God loves it when man boasts in God, and God hates it when man boasts in man.Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord" (2 Corinthians 10:17).Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14).The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
The biblical doctrine of human depravity is a great antidote to racism. I have seen this recently in two very different articles. One is by Andrew Walls called "The Evangelical Revival, the Missionary Movement, and Africa"37. He points out that the Great Awakening in America and England (1730s and ’40s) gave rise to the modern foreign missionary movement.
Fat Tuesday is another name for Mardis Gras, the raucous annual parade and party held in the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana. The tradition is many centuries old and was originally known as Carnival. It is held in various places around the world under different names. Mardis Gras (or Fat Tuesday) is the American version.
masks and beads
During our staff days of prayer and planning, one of our focuses in prayer was to wage war on pride. For help, we looked at God's attitude toward pride, the nature of pride and the remedy for pride. We are aware that our hearts are deceitful and that we must be relentlessly vigilant in the fight against pride.
