FAQ

The scriptures ask us to forgive one another and the way we do this is to obey the Word of God.  Matt 6:14-15, Eph 4:32, Col 3:13.  We need to run our race obeying God without hindrance or encumbrance.  If we keep offences in our heart we will be burdened with sin and this stops our fellowship and free flow with the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit cannot abide sin.  Forgiveness sets you free.  It makes a real Christian out of you, as you have not taken the easy choice of stop talking to your offender.  Forgiveness brings healing.  Forgiveness removes the offenders power.  Forgive and forget is not in the bible but we deal with offenses as if we have forgotten not by brandishing it over the head of the offender.  We forgive and if possible put offences at the back of our mind because, this is exactly what Jesus did for us Romans 5:8.

God commands us to pay tithes and this is for our own good. Gen 14:18 – 20.  We see God bless Abraham abundantly when he paid tithes. In Mal 3:10-11. God commands us to pay tithes and explains the blessings we get when we do. We get:

i.            Open windows from heaven.

ii.            A blessing will pour out.

iii.            There shall not be enough room to receive his blessing.

iv.            The devourer will be rebuked for your sake.

v.            The devourer will not destroy the fruits of your ground.

vi.            Your vine will not cast her fruit before the time in the field.

vii.            All nations will call you blessed.

viii.            You shall be a delightsome land.

Paying your first fruits is an act of love by putting God first in all things. Prov 3:9, Rom 11:16, Lev 23:10 it is the plan of God for his Children to have the best and prosper.  A child of God should be an overcomer in all things.  Christians who pay their first fruits want to get to the next level with God and you find that they are matured, blessed and obedient children of God.  Paying of First fruits is supposed to be practised by everyone but you find only a select few who practises this good, godly habit.  If you want to be special you have to do special things with God.

There are different parts to this question:
• First there are no good people, the bible tells us that there are no good people Ecc7:20, Rom 3:23, 1 john 1:8, Rom 3:10-18.
• Our time on earth is not all there is – we are being tested here and our outcome determines where we spend eternity. This life is not our real life our real life begins after we leave this earth, because we will be going into eternity but where do we spend eternity. A few years in this life is nothing compared to eternity.
• The bad things we experience is part of the test and the pain is supposed to draw us near to God.
• The short test is nothing compared to the suffering that will be experienced in hell. The bad things that happen is to draw us to God.

• One good way of understanding the bible is to take the word of God at face value.
• Another way is to understand the context and the language of how the scriptures were written, to translate it adequately.
• When we study the word, Day does it mean day or does it have more connotations. A day could be interpreted as a time or season.  So, the account of creation in Genesis could be referring to a time or season, but if we honour the word of God enough we should believe what the word of God declares itself to be.
• Looking at the outcomes, is important here. If the days referred to a period of a 1 million or 1 billion years per day that would make the scriptures untrue because it would mean that it was impossible to have had a current earth.  This would prove evolutionists true and God is not a liar.
• Romans 3:4 declares that God is truth and all other things are lies, should we not believe in the integrity of the word of God.

Matt 21:18-22 & Mark 11:12-14 are the two accounts of where Jesus cursed the fig tree.  Scholars believe Jesus cursed the fig tree because:

1. it was of no value. It did not yield fruit but appeared fruitful.
2. Another school of thought was that the fig tree represented Israel and what Jesus did was a type of example of what would happened to them if they continued in unfaithfulness to God and worship another God.  This eventually happened to Jerusalem.

• The bible does not mention gambling but advices us to avoid casting luck or chance in Prov 16:33
• The bible warns us not to love money more than our souls even though the bible does not talk about gambling, 1 Tim 6:10.
• The intense love of money could lead a Christian to gamble.
• The bible also warns us to be careful of get rich quick schemes Prov 13:11, Ecc 5:10.
• God hates the wastage of his resources, God hates the wastage of money, which gambling leads to.
• Can you see God endorsing a Christian in a casino or a betting house? A word is enough for the wise.
• You need to pray the temptation to gamble out of your life as gambling is a sin.
• Christians grow to become Christians they are not born without sin.