Paying the Preacher:

Mar. 2007 HELLO, COULD YOU SEND ME SOME SCRIPTURES ON PAYING OUR PASTOR? PLEASE MELANIE Dear Melanie; There are a few verses that talk about paying your pastor. The Bible says that the workman is worthy of his hire (payment). Here are a couple verses: Luke 10:3-7 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. 1 Tim 5:17-18 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. 1 Cor 9:13-14 Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. In the old testament, the priests were supported by the offerings given to the temple. This is the example we use today for paying our preachers: Lev 10:12-13 And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take the meat offering that remaineth of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the altar: for it is most holy: And ye shall eat it in the holy place, because it is thy due, and thy sons’ due, of the sacrifices of the LORD made by fire: for so I am commanded. Lev 27:21 But the field, when it goeth out in the jubilee, shall be holy unto the LORD, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest’s. Num 18:19 All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee. There are also verses that could be used to say that the preacher should not be paid and should get a separate job to support himself and his family. I think its up to the church and the pastor which way to go. If the pastor is paid, he can spend his time studying the Word, praying, and ministering to the needs of the people in his church. If he isn't paid by the church, the pastor will have to spend his time meeting the needs of his family. I hope this helps answer your question.

  Liars:

Feb. 2007 Please let me know what God says about liars and deceivers......I work with several girls that are constantly telling lies...How can I handle this situation? I pray constantly that GOD will open their eyes....Thanking you in advance, Jayne Thank you for your question. Look at the following verses: 1 Tim 1:9-10 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; Prov 6:16-19 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. Notice that in this verse, liars and perjerers are numbered with the murderers, homosexuals, kidnappers, etc. They are called “lawless” and “disobedient” and “ungodly.” God must see it as a serious offense. In Prov 6:16 we are told that there are 7 things that God hates, one of those seven is liars. It says that God sees it as an abomination. That's the worst that it can be in God's eyes. Rev 21:8 says that liars will be thrown in the lake of fire. And then there are the ten commandments in which God tells us "thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor" (Exo 20:16). He wrote that one in stone, I think he really meant it. Jesus said that Satan is the father of lies: John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and th lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it. So, if a person is a Christian, there should be no place for lying … period. If the girls you work with are not Christians, then the problem isn't that they are liars, the problem is that they need saved. Right now they are "of their father the devil." They need to turn to Jesus and ask for forgiveness of their sins. I hope this helps.

  Marriage Problems:

Jan 2007 I have been married for 12 years. I have 3 boys. I have been Saved by The Blood of The Lord Jesus Christ for 8 years now. I will get to the point of my problem very quickly and will be awaiting your advice. PLEASE help me. In 1998 my wife cheated on me with a co-worker at a part time job she had gotten. Its was ended very soon because of another phoning me and letting me know what was going on. It was hard but we managed to overcome it and a few months after that happened was when I was Born Again as well as my wife just a couple weeks after me. Since then 2 older boys have come to know the Saving Grace of The Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN. Two years ago, my wife got another part time job and history repeated itself. Only this time no co-worker called to tell me of her goings on. I had to find it out myself. The affair lasted almost 4 months. I found out by dumping her purse out and finding love letters. It has taken her 1 year and a half to tell me what I know, and what I know is this: "They kissed a lot, plenty of heated make out sessions, they met in secluded areas but to only talk and make out a little, the mostly talked but went a lot of places together either in separate vehicles or together, and oral sex happened twice but very briefly" At least, this is what I guess to be the truth. I have not been dead set on knowing every minor detail of the affair, but I do demand to know if sex ever happened. She denies it happened, but for a year she also denied many things she finally came and admitted to me only opening the wound again and again. Its bad enough that all this happened, period. But if sex happened, then I am done with this marriage, at least this is how I feel right now. My main problem is this. It has been two years since this filth happened and I just can't seem to forgive her. I know that I should and I know that God says that I must forgive her. BUT my flesh is not so quick to just forgive. As a matter of fact, a part of me just does not want to forgive her at all. But another part of me knows that I should. I am tired of my gears grinding here. I am tired of the pain of it all. I used to hurt so much that I would actually lay down and try to "will" myself to die. I was not suicidal, but I was tired of living with the hurt and wanted to lay down, go to sleep and never wake up. My wife and I have not talked about her affair in 3 months and things with me are not getting any better. I feel so miserable sometimes. But other times I can see she is really trying (I think) to prove she loves me. Although, I have been thru this once before and I don’t know what to think anymore. Please......what should I do? How do I get over this massive stumbling block? I appreciate your time and any advice. Dear Sir; Your email is very painful for me to read. It stagers me to see the amount of pain and hurt we bring into our lives when we choose to disobey God and choose to sin. Why do we do that? Your wife’s sin of unfaithfulness has caused pain to you and her and your children (as much as you might like to think you are capable of keeping this from them……they are effected too). And your sin of bitterness is allowing the pain to continue. I can’t tell you what to do or whether to stay with your wife or divorce her. Those are decisions that only you can make through MUCH prayer. While you do have Biblical grounds for divorce, divorce never makes things easier or better, only worse. God knew this when marriage was established. Jesus said the following: Mat 19:7-10 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. So, God knew that because of the hardness of our heart, there would be divorce, but from the beginning God intended that we should remain married for life. When someone breaks that trust it is extremely hard to recover from that. And left to our own self I don’t think that we can. But we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and from Him we learn the gift of forgiveness. Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. If you look at the weight of sin that God has forgiven you for , then you have to ask yourself, “if God can forgive me of all the horrible sin that I’ve committed, how can I then refuse to forgive my wife for the sin that she has committed?” When we refuse to forgive someone we aren’t hurting them, we are hurting ourselves. We choose to carry around the burden of that sin. We allow it to fester like an infection in our heart until it destroys us. The Bible speaks of this often as the root of bitterness. Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Whether you stay with your wife or divorce her, you must deal with the bitterness in your heart. If you don’t it will destroy your relationship with God, it will ruin your life, it will effect your children. It is sin and sin brings death. Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace James 1:15.…and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

  Adultery in Our Heart:

Dec. 2006 I thought for sure there was a scripture that talked about the husband and wife relationship and that even thinking lustful thoughts or looking at another in some way was wrong but I can't find it... I hope this makes sense.. thanks, Stephanie Dear Stephanie; You are exactly right, there is a scripture that says that. In fact, it was Jesus that said it. Matt. 5:27-28 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. The point is that God knows our heart and if we are giving place to sin in our thoughts (heart) then it’s the same as doing it. Matt. 15:18-19 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: Pas 44:21 Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. Instead of thinking about adultery, or other sinful acts, the Bible tells us we should fill our hearts with the Word if God. This is our best and only defense against sin: Psa. 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Thanks for the question.

  Praise Dancing in Church:

November 2006 I have a question, what are your out looks on praise dancing in the church? Thanks for your question. I have sort of mixed feelings about dancing in the church. As with everything else, I have to go back to the Word. There aren’t a lot of references to dancing but there are a few. We are told that the Israelite women danced when they were liberated from Egypt and we know that David danced in praise to the Lord when he brought the ark home. Here are the verses: Ex. 15:20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 2 Sam. 6:14 And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. Psa. 149:3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. Psa. 150:4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. God was not displeased with Miriam or David for dancing in praise. Everything we do or say should be in praise of God and if we are doing it with a pure heart and true praise, it is pleasing to God. However, (didn’t you just know there had to be an “however” in here somewhere), as with everything else that God has given us that is good and pure, Satan will turn it to something ugly and sinful. Dance by it’s very nature can be a very sensual act. And more often than not, dancing is not truly to the praise and worship of the Father, but more a fleshly, natural demonstration of our baser side. We have examples of this in scripture and we should be extremely careful to heed the warning: Ex. 32:19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. Judg. 21:21 And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. 1 Sam. 30:16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. Job 21:7-13 Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Mark 6:22 -24 And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. Everything that is done in the church should be to the glory of God and the edification (building up) of believers. Since dancing is such a sensual act, we must be very careful not to cause a brother or sister to sin. Paul tells us that the stronger (more spiritual) brothers must be careful for the weaker (more carnal) ones. He uses the example of eating meat verses not eating meat in chapter 14 of the book of Romans. And the passage would also apply to anything that would cause a fellow believer to stumble in sin. You should read the whole chapter to get a sense of what Paul is driving at. Rom. 14:18 -19 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. and… Rom. 15:1 -2 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. We also have to remember that not all people that walk into the doors of our church are born again believers in Christ. We are told in first Corinthians that we have to be careful what we do for their sakes as well (1 Cor 14:22-23). Everything that is done in the church should edify the believers. 1 Cor. 14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. Eph. 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: If there is even the slightest possibility that a praise dance would cause someone to have sinful thoughts, I just wouldn’t take that chance. If I feel like dancing before the Lord, I would do it at home.

  Prayer to Saints:

November 2006 Can you explain to me why we should pray to the saints and to Mary also, what does it say in the bible about praying to these people? Hello and thanks for your question. I can’t explain to you why we should pray to Mary or the saints because I don’t believe that we should be praying to them at all. I’m not sure how that practice came about but I can’t find anything in the Bible to support it and I find plenty in the Bible that would indicate that it is not pleasing to God. The first place I would have you look is in Exodus where God gives Moses the ten commandments. Exo 20: 3-5 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God… So, if you are bowing to a graven image of a saint or Mary, and praying to that saint or Mary, then you are breaking one of the very first comments that God has given us. This command was expressly repeated in Leviticus 26:14. In addition to that command, we are also told that we are not to have any communication with the dead. In the Bible this is called necromancy. It is the same as witchcraft. Deu 18:9-12 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD In fact, King Saul (the first king of Israel) consulted the dead concerning an upcoming battle, and the Lord was so angry, it cost Saul his life (1 Sam 28:11 and 1 Chr 10:13). So, not only is it not helpful to pray to dead people (no matter how saintly they were in this life), that practice is an abomination to the Lord. That would include prayers to Mary as well. There is really no need to pray to dead saints. If we are a child of God, a born again believer in Jesus (John 3:7), and a new man (2 Cor 5:17), then we have full access to the throne of God through Jesus. We have no need to go through Mary, or a dead saint, or a priest. We can go directly to God our Father with our petitions. I think that is extremely wonderful. Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father Eph 3:11-12 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Heb 4: 15-16 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace… Heb 10:19-20 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh 1 Pet 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: The Bible says that the righteous may enter into God’s presence. Since all of us have sinned (Rom 3:23), none of us are righteous, so none of us would be able to come into God’s presence if it weren’t for Jesus. By his payment for our sin, we have access to the Father. When we ask him, Jesus takes on our sins and we take on his righteousness thereby granting us the right to come into the presence of God the Father and that is an awesome thing.

  Soul at Death:

November 2006 Where does the soul go at death???? Thx john Thank you for viewing the web site and taking the time to write. There are two views among Christians on this subject. The first is that we "sleep" in the grave until the time of the Resurrection. Indeed the Bible does talk of sleeping in the grave. The second and most widely accepted view (and the one that seems to fit scripture more closely) is that our bodies "sleep" in the grave until the Resurrection, but our souls go to be with the Lord. This second view is the one that I believe because it can be supported throughout scripture. Here are some of the verses that tell me that our souls go to be with the Lord (if we have accepted salvation through the finished work of Christ on the Cross): Eccl 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. 2 Cor 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 1 Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. (notice that those that "sleep" God will bring with Him, bodies are sleeping, soul is with God.) Jesus said the following concerning those that have died: Mark 12:26-27 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err. Jesus said to the thief on the cross: Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. I hope this helps answer your question.