“He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts — but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics. Also he said to them, ‘in whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for that city!’ So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.” Mark 6:8-13.

The message from Christ is clear that these first apostles were to travel light with very few assets. Yet today charismatic church leaders pump out a steady stream of errant teachings concerning the tithe (giving money to the church) in overt attempts to extract every bit of money they can from people for their own dishonest gain. Why? To pay for expensive buildings, planes and cars? For personal luxuries even the very members of their own congregations do not enjoy. Is this your idea of how church leaders should be paid in the 21st century? Do you think this speaks well for the church? After all, weren’t all those diamonds meant to be for God’s kids? I will give you a clue here and speak more on this later. For now, think about being a friend of the world or a friend of God.

What about those large and expensive churches that men build as they declare their faith to God with ornate dwelling places? Do you think God wants to dwell in those buildings? No. HE wants to dwell inside of you on a one-on-one basis. Those nice buildings are a great place for God’s people to gather together. But, the building God wants for HIMSELF is your temple.

“God, who made the world and everything in it … does not dwell in temples made with hands.” Acts 17:24

“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.” 1 Corinthians 3:9

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