A psalm of David Psalm 23

poetically describes the life of an Oriental shepherd from beginning to end. All that the shepherd means to the sheep, his care and his love is beautifully described by the inspired poet. Davind and his ancestors knew the sheep. He was certainly an exceptionally good shepherd. His name means Beloved and he is a wonderful example for the Lord Jesus Christ the Divine Shepherd, whom the Father has given us. Whoever reads this psalm calmly and thinks of his beloved Lord is blessed and looks up to him with trust and gratitude. Who is infinitely good to his own.

The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. This is the keynote of the song that will ring out until the end. If he is my shepherd, I shall not want. He lives for me and I receive all that his love and power can give me to make me happy. Do we live in the knowledge that he is our shepherd and do we thank him for it?

He lays me down in green pastures.

The first thing a sheep needs is food. In our country there are only a few flocks of sheep left, but in the East there are still many hundreds. There the work of a shepherd is much more difficult than with us, often it goes downhill and uphill and on narrow mountain paths, past dizzying abysses, but always with the aim of finding good grazing grounds. Sheep graze there from about half past three in the morning until one o’clock. The shepherd prefers to lead them in the morning to meager pastures, and later to more lush ones, so that they can graze on magnificent pastures before the sun is high in the sky. Afterwards they rest for three or four hours in the shade. It is good for their growth if they can ruminate in peace. Shouldn’t the sheep be happy there? The food for the believer is the Word of God. Do we enjoy it daily? Do we get to know our Lord more through it? Is growth in our spiritual life?

The Lord wants to lead you out of the turbulence’s of your life into his loving and caring arms. He is waiting for you until you come and rest at his feet, read his word and know HIM and his voice. Just be still – close your eyes and say JESUS.

Much love for you and your loved ones – shalom

We live in a time where sin and especially fornication is normal. But God’s Spirit does not subordinate itself to our spirit of the times, but we are allowed to adapt God’s standards for our lifestyle and dedicate ourselves to a holy devotion to His Word.

Fornication = extra-marital sex, which includes adultery, fornication and prostitution.

Colossians 3

5 Kill therefore your members that are on the earth: Fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust, and the covetousness that is idolatry;

6 Because of these things the wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience;

7 Among them you also once walked, when you were living in these things.

8 But now you also put away all these things – wrath, anger, wickedness, blasphemy, ugly sayings from your mouth.

A teaching from Jesus in Matthew 5

27 You have heard that it was said to the ancients, “You shall not commit adultery.

28 But I say to you: Whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

29 But if your right eye becomes an offense [to sin], pluck it out and throw it from you. For it is better for thee that one of thy members should perish, than that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

30 And if your right hand becomes an offense [to sin] for you, cut it off and throw it from you. For it is better for thee that one of thy members should perish, than that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

The antidote is a wonderful promise

John 1

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

may the Lord bless you while seeking truth … shalom

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

When we say, “I gave my tithe,” we are not exactly accurate. Tithing is not giving. The tithe (ten percent of our gross income) already belongs to the Lord. It’s not “my tithe” it is the Lord’s. We don’t “give” it because it belongs to God. You can’t give something that doesn’t belong to you.

Leviticus 27:30 (KJV)
And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, [the tithe] is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD.

The Tithe Is a Test

The ten percent extra we all get is a test as to whether we will choose to honor God, or the malignant principality of mammon. Passing or failing this test may well determine your future wealth.

In Malachi 3:8–12, God wants to be proved on this. In verse 10, He says, “Prove me …Tithing opens the windows of Heaven to your life, but offerings (giving beyond the tithe) are what provide you with the container to catch all the blessings God pours through those windows. Remember tithing is not giving. Giving is when you go beyond the tithe. We sometimes call it “seed planting,” remembering that when we plant seeds we expect a harvest.

Tithing opens the windows of Heaven, but when you give beyond that in offerings, you will receive a spiritual container proportionate to your offerings. If you give big, you will get a big container to catch the blessings being poured out. If you give a tiny bit, you’ll be given a tiny container for your blessings.

A Generous Attitude

If you have a generous attitude, and are liberal in your giving, you’ll get a huge spiritual truck to catch your blessings. If you have a stingy attitude in your giving, you may get a teaspoon to catch your blessings. It’s all up to you. Even Paul made the statement in the New Testament concerning giving and receiving:

2 Corinthians 9:6 (TLB)
But remember this—if you give little, you will get little. A farmer who plants just a few seeds will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much.

Is Tithing Optional?

Tithing is not optional. Giving (or “seed planting”), however, is optional, depending on what size harvest you want in the future.

The tithe belongs to the Lord already. But the rest is yours to do with as you please. If you use some of what’s left to give big, you’ll receive big personal wealth containers for the blessings.

I asked two thousand people for some volunteers one Sunday morning. I announced, “I want to conduct an experiment with two tithing families. I’d like for you to quit tithing for one year to see what happens. Can I get any volunteers?” Nobody–I mean nobody-volunteered.

Each person seemed to understand the starting point to radical wealth is the practice of tithing and then making offerings—then going beyond what they think they can do by making radical faith promises…and keeping them.

author Dave Williams