February13 Beacon

7/29/2019 February13 Beacon

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Wading River Baptist ChurchP.O. Box 438, 1635 Wading River-Manor Road, Wading River, NY 11792

(631) 929-3512; 929-6022

www.wrbc.us [email protected]

IImmmmiiggrraattiioonn aanndd tthhee BBii b bllee “There shall be one standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native,

for I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 24:22).

Having been inaugurated for a second

term, President Obama has announced

plans to overhaul the immigration laws of

the United States. As a part of his election

campaign in 2008, he pledged to deal with

the stubborn challenge of illegal immigra-

tion which has plagued America for many

years, but for all the rhetoric, and probably

with an eye to re-election, he failed to act.

Safely installed in the Oval Office for a sec-

ond term, he is now joining with his allies

in Congress to bring about significant

change. The primary change, according to

news reports, will be to create legal status

for millions of illegals. In its story, the

Associated Press says, “The proposals from

Obama and lawmakers will mark the start

of what is expected to be a contentious andemotional process with deep political im-

plications.”

Obama’s 2011 “blueprint,” according

to the AP, “calls for a pathway to citizen-

ship for illegal immigrants that includes

paying fines and back taxes; increased bor-

der security; mandatory penalties for busi-

nesses that employ unauthorized immi-

grants; and improvements to the legal im-

migration system, including giving green

cards to high-skilled workers and lifting

caps on legal immigration for the immedi-

ate family members of U.S. citizens.” In

addition, changes “are expected to include

a process toward legalizing the status of

unauthorized immigrants already in the

country; border security; verification meas-

ures for employers hiring workers and

ways for more temporary workers to be

admitted into the country.” After a recent

meeting with the President, Rep. Linda

Sanchez (D-CA) said Obama told lawmak-

ers "immigration reform is his number one

legislative priority."

One heretofore overlooked implication

of immigration reform is the likelihood

that it could suddenly make millions of

non-citizens eligible for healthcare cover-

age under the Affordable Health Care Act

(Obamacare). Quoted on “The Hill” web

site, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), a leader in

the immigration debate, has said, "We have

to figure out a way in which [undocu-

mented immigrants] incorporate them-

selves into the larger workforce, and into

our society in general, and not be a bur-

den.”

And what about the American public?

Recent polling data suggests that Ameri-

cans are increasingly in agreement with

proposed changes. In one poll taken in

January, fifty-three percent want a path to

legalization for illegal immigrants, which,

according to “The Hill,” is a major shiftfrom 2011, when most wanted Washington

focused on deportations.

Once again, faced as we are with a

major policy initiative from a socialist-

leaning administration, in order to be re-

sponsible citizens, we evangelicals are be-

ing forced to decide where we stand on

immigration. Clearly, it’s not an easy ques-

tion. Nonetheless, the Bible does give

some principles governing immigration in

ancient Israel—principles which, although

not the governing authority of the United

States, still contain very helpful guidelines.

At the very least, these biblical principles

should form the foundation of our think-

ing.

The first principle is stated in Leviticus

19:33-34: “When a stranger resides with

you in your land, you shall not do him

wrong. The stranger who resides with you

shall be to you as the native among you,

and you shall love him as yourself, for you

were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the

Lord your God.” An immigrant was to be

treated and loved as a citizen.

Upon leaving Egypt, Israel had to de

with the question of how they were to tre

the non-Israelites living among them

These were primarily Egyptians who h

voluntarily chosen to leave their nati

country with the emigrant Israelites. F

the most part, they were probably pe

suaded to cast their lot with God’s peop

because of His obvious blessing up

them. They had prospered and multipli

in the Nile Delta for four hundred year

and during the ravages of the plagues im

mediately preceding the exodus, they h

been spared judgment. Perhaps out of fe

more than anything else, these Egyptian

called in the Hebrew Bible ereb rab (

large number of mixed people,” Ex 12:38

left Egypt for the trans-wilderness trek Canaan.

The first commandment God gave t

Israelites after their departure had to

with the perpetual observance of the Pas

over, and as part of His instructions, H

made it clear that no foreigner (ben nē kā

was permitted to participate (Ex 12:43).

circumcised Gentile slave could eat t

Passover, but not a “sojourner” (tôš ā

unassimilated “alien”) or hired servant (

45). However, a circumcised “strange

(gē r) was allowed to celebrate the fea

This “stranger” was an alien, a man wh

had left his own land with the intention

settling in another where he had no leg

rights. In order to be assimilated, ther

fore, he had to conform to the laws an

customs of the host nation. Thus, the no

Israelite was forbidden from participati

in the Passover, but the assimilated (c

cumcised) Israelite—corresponding to o

legal immigrant—was permitted to do s

The Lord specifically declared (literall

that “There is one law for the native and f

the sojourner [alien or foreigner, gē r] w

sojourns [‘stays as a foreigner’] in yo

FFee b brruuaarr y y 22001133 V V o ol l u umm e e 8 8 ##22



midst” (v. 49). This provision is repeated

in Numbers 9:14: “If an alien sojourns

among you and observes the Passover to

the Lord, according to the statute of the

Passover and according to its ordinance, so

he shall do; you shall have one statute,

both for the alien and for the native of the

land.”

In terms of the Law, the same princi-

ple was to apply. “The alien as well as the

native, when He blasphemes the Name,shall be put to death” (Lev 24:16). Repeat-

ing the lex talionis (law of retribution) ini-

tially stated in Exodus 21, the Lord de-

clares, “There shall be one standard [lit.,

“judgment,” mišpāt ] for you; it shall be for

the stranger [gē r], as well as for the native,

for I am the Lord your God” (v. 22). More

generally, therefore, the Lord established

this principle of divine law: “As for the

assembly, there shall be one statute for you

and for the alien who sojourns with you, a

perpetual statute throughout your genera-

tions; as you are, so shall the alien be be-

fore the Lord. There is to be one law andone ordinance for you and for the alien

who sojourns with you” (15:15-16). And

again, “You shall have one law for him who

does anything unintentionally, for him who

is native among the sons of Israel and for

the alien who sojourns among them. But

the person who does anything defiantly,

whether he is native or an alien, that one is

blaspheming the Lord; and that person

shall be cut off from among his people” (vv.

29-30).

With regard to the dilemma we face in

America today, these passages yield thefollowing conclusions. First, we are obli-

gated to love the foreigners among us, and

that applies to all of them without regard to

their immigration status. We, as redeemed

sinners, are to love them as people, many

of whom are lost and in need of the Savior.

We are to love them as we wish to be loved.

Israel was to do so because they under-

stood what it meant to be foreigners living

in a nation not their own. Christians, how-

ever, can feel the force of the same dy-

namic, even if they never leave the shores

of their native country. The reason is that

regenerate believers are already citizens of

heaven (Phil 3:20). That’s why Peter ad-

dresses the readers of his first epistle as

“aliens and strangers” (1 Pet 2:11). Under-

standing what it means to be a foreigner

leads to compassion on other foreigners.

Genuine believers therefore never have any

excuse for hating or mistreating the immi-

grants who live among them, legal or ille-

gal.

Second, to maintain civil order in soci-

ety, government must enforce the laws of the nation without prejudice or bias. Na-

tive-born citizens, foreign-born citizens,

and illegal aliens are to be subjected

equally to the requirements of the law.

Ethnic, racial, religious, or socio-economic

inequalities are not a sufficient reason for

circumventing the rule of law. The gov-

ernment of the United States should dili-

gently and without prejudice enforce all

immigration laws. The laws are on the

books for a reason, and if that reason is no

longer valid, or if the majority of the popu-

lation no longer agrees with the laws, then

the legislative bodies should change them. De facto overruling of properly created

laws by neglect or deliberate evasion is not

a satisfactory solution; to do so under-

mines the rule of law in other respects,

destroying the cohesion of a civil society.

Third , therefore, loving the foreigners

among us does not require us to tolerate

their bad behavior. When immigrants

commit crimes, they must be punished;

when they violate accepted moral, ethical,

and behavioral norms in their host country,

they should be educated about what is tol-

erated and what is forbidden, and thenrequired to conform. Toleration in the

name of diversity is death to the cultural

foundation of any nation. And that points

to one final conclusion.

Fourth, a nation has a right to expect

the immigrants among them to observe

uniform religious standards. Aliens in Is-

rael were not free to practice their pagan

cults; they did not have the option of idola-

try or unrestrained immorality. If they

wanted to live with the Israelites, they had

to live like the Israelites.

Religious liberty in the United States is

constitutionally protected, but a careful

analysis of the First Amendment will pro

that the framers never intended it to pr

tect a plurality of contradictory and oft

hostile religions. It is at this point th

modern America encounters an impas

which will hinder the satisfactory resol

tion of the immigrant problem. As I ha

often pointed out, every great civilization

history has had a state religion—except f

the United States of America. The reas

for this is obvious. The foundation ofcivilization’s legal framework and practic

morality is its religious faith. The Unit

States originally had an unspoken al

giance to Christianity. Freedom was

lowed for differences of denomination

convictions (Anglican, Presbyterian, L

theran, Congregational, Baptist, Rom

Catholic, etc.); but the nation’s founde

never envisioned a patchwork of competi

and contradictory religions such as we ha

today.

Our American culture is severely co

flicted about what to do with illegal imm

grants. The reason for this confusionthat America has ceased to be a “melti

pot,” and is rapidly becoming Balkanize

Because America no longer retains a re

gious, moral, and ethical consensus, “eve

man does what is right in his own eye

(Jud 17:6; 21:25). Thus we must conte

with diverse groups who insist on mai

taining their native identities while enjo

ing the benefits of American Jude

Christian inspired freedoms and prospe

ity, all the while resting satisfied in bei

called “hyphen-Americans.” With the lo

of a religious consensus in America, whcan we expect?

Buddhist idols in Chinese restaurant

Hindu mysticism in yoga classes? Shar

Law in Islamist enclaves? Nearly 200 d

ferent languages being spoken in som

urban school districts? Are these thin

acceptable for America’s future? How or

these problems will be resolved is not clea

Our legislators have a monumental ta

before them, and they need divine wisdo

to accomplish it.

—Pastor Ron Glas

MMiissssiioonnaarriieess oof f tthhee MMoonntthh –– R R aallpphh && SSaannddrraa TThhoommppssoonn

As we know, Ralph & Sandra Thompson

minister to the least-reached people in the

city of Mombasa, the second largest city in

Kenya. Mombasa is located on the east

coast of Kenya and is the country’s princi-

pal tourist destination. There is a full free-

dom of religion in Kenya; but in spite of the

immense freedom, corruption remains

overwhelmingly present, allowing Ralph &

Sandra Thompson to recognize Mombasa

as a solid base of ministry. Even though

Kenya is predominantly “Christian” where

the Thompsons live along the coast, there

are so many “unreached peoples yet to

come out of the darkness into the light.”

In partnership with the local church,

Fellowship Baptist Church, the Thompsons

have taken part in church development,

teaching, evangelism, discipleship, cou

seling, mentoring and leadership training

The Thompsons find an amazi

openness among the people of Mombasa

talk about spiritual things, giving the

ample opportunities to share the truth

the Gospel. Religious and political te

sions seem to be emerging, however; wi

the upcoming elections in 2013 there



potential for civil unrest. We need to pray

that they will be able to take full advantage

of the current religious freedom and that

the doors for the Gospel would remain

open, especially along the coast where the

majority have not accepted the Lord Jesus

Christ as Savior.

As we intercede for the Thompsons,

they have indicated the following specific

prayer requests: (1) For peace and stability

in Kenya; (2) that doors for the Gospel would remain open, especially along the

coast where they are situated; (3) that God

would call more laborers to join them in

the harvest; and (4) for the safety, health,

and protection of their family, friends, and

co-laborers in Mombasa.

And since children make up the major-

ity of Kenya’s population, so many of the

ministries focus on the children and young

people and cannot be established fast

enough. Pray that the ministry wou

match the growing need to reach out to th

segment of the population.

So as Ralph & Sandra continue to a

swer to their calling to be ambassadors

the unreached in Mombasa, may we co

tinue to be obedient to pray and suppo

this ministry, not forgetting to pray f

their three children: Ryan, Alyssa, a

Alana.

⎯ Joan Tyska

MMoonntthh iinn R R ee v v iiee w w

“‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’

declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and

not for calamity to give you a future and ahope’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

2013 arrived peacefully for WRBC;

without New Year’s resolutions, late-night

parties, or spectacular secular traditions;

but with God’s assur-

ance of a new year filled

with hope for the future

under His watchful eye

for those that love Him.

Many from the church were bringing in the

New Year with their families in Texas or

Nevada or other distant places; others,

such as our college students, had returned

to the Island for family reunions; and oth-ers spent a time of fellowshipping in their

homes with WRBC brothers and sisters.

Yes, it was a time of renewal, a time of

hope, and a time of celebration ⎯ but not

with a worldly perspective. It was with

hearts for the future according to God’s

will.

But before saying goodbye to 2012, on

the last Lord’s Day of the year, December

30th, there was one last snow fall in a year

that hardly could speak of any snow accu-

mulations. It was quite beautiful, but it

also had a direct effect on the attendance atchurch for the last Lord’s Day service of the

year. Pastor Glass continued his series of

expository studies in the Gospel of Mat-

thew with the selected text of Matthew 3:1-

12. Pastor’s sermon was entitled, “Who Is

This?” ⎯ a study of John the Baptist.

In contrast, on the following Lord’s

Day, January 6th, the attendance was back

to normal, with families returning from

Christmas holidays and before the college

students began their exit back to college.

Being that the holidays united the three

Piraino sisters, it is without saying that

they were asked

to participate in

the worship service, sharing their

incredible musi-

cal skills on the

violin and piano.

Lord’s Day evening on January 6th, the

Bible Study and fellowship resumed after a

few weeks of holiday recess. For the month

of January the group met at the home of

Alfredo and Rosie Hofmann in Manorville.

The study of 1 Corinthians continued with

an open discussion led by Pastor Glass,

followed by a time of fellowshipping and

enjoying the great dishes made by the

hostess, Rosie Hofmann, and others wish-ing to share some of their favorite dishes.

Except for the Senior Saints’ Luncheon

on January 12th, January was a quiet and

peaceful month and

time for everyone

to catch their

breath ⎯ a welcome

recess for many. As

for the “Whiter

Than Snow” Senior Luncheon, the lunch-

eon ironically was scheduled for one of the

warmest days of the winter, so far removed

from the idea of the whiteness of snow.But once the seniors gathered in the Fel-

lowship Hall, the displayed Kincaid winter

pictures and Styrofoam snowflakes re-

minded one of the theme and topic for dis-

cussion.

As flu season peaked during the tim

line of the luncheon, some thought w

offered to present a healthy meal to ass

the seniors in a bit of flu prevention as

encouragement to stay healthy. Hom

made chicken noodle soup and a buffet

healthy vegetables accompanied by

chicken breast in cream sauce entrée we

well received by almost 30 attendees of tluncheon. A volunteer committee ⎯ Jack

Kaitlyn, Kristen, and Kara Hallstrom, Mi

Piraino, and Vicki Valentine ⎯ made up t

perfect kitchen team; they excelled not on

in the presentation of the food, but also

the serving of it. Not able to attend t

luncheon was the pianist, Marie Capu

leaving a vacancy at the piano which Past

Glass capably filled, accompanying t

seniors as they sang a selection of hym

before dinner. Also missing was Dia

Pandolfini and the joy she brings to t

luncheons with her imaginary creatiothat reflect the theme of the particul

luncheon. Only this time, even thou

Diane had her costume assembled an

ready to wear, she did not make it to t

luncheon as she sat home in a cast with

broken leg. She was dearly missed. M

God grant her a speedy recovery.

Chris Hallstrom was

the devotional leader,

bringing awareness to one

of history’s finest British

Particular Baptist preach-



ers, Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Keeping

with the theme of the luncheon, Chris used

one of Spurgeon’s sermons from March 24,

1861, entitled “The Silver Trumpet,” which

had as its Scripture text Isaiah

1:18 ⎯ “Come now, and let us reason to-

gether, says the Lord, though your sins are

like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;

though they are red like crimson, they shall

be as wool.” Chris’s highly motivated pres-

entation of Spurgeon’s sermon, containingpenetrating thought and precise exposi-

tion, was not only interesting and informa-

tive but revealed a most eloquent and

highly influential preacher among Chris-

tians of an earlier era.

Hopefully Chris

opened a window of dis-

covery for some of the

seniors of a preacher

that at one time was con-

sidered the “Prince of

Preachers.” Spurgeon’s youthful conver-

sion to Christianity at age 16 brought him

into a rapid rise in his obedience to be bap-tized and to teach Sunday School; he

preached his first sermon in the winter of

1850-51, still as a teenager. His oratorical

skills held throngs of listeners as he con-

tinued to produce powerful sermons of

penetrating thought and precise exposi-

tion. He was an author of many types of

works including sermons, an autobiogra-

phy, commentaries, books on prayer, devo-

tionals, magazines, poetry, hymns, and

more. He was the most powerful preacher

of his time and has left a legacy that has

lingered into this century, dominating thedevotions of this senior luncheon. For

some, Chris introduced to the seniors an

avenue of Biblical nourishment through

Charles Spurgeon.

And what a nice surprise it was to wel-

come former members of WRBC, John &

Joann Bennett, to the luncheon to reunite

with some old friends (with associated fond

memories) and to make new memories

with those meeting the couple for the first

time. John & Joann are in the process of

returning to Florida to live and the lunch-

eon was an opportunity to reach out to

spend some time with some old friends

before making the move.

March 16, 2013 is already on the cal-

endar for the next senior luncheon sched-

uled to meet in the Fellowship Hall. The

theme and topic will be “Consider the Lilies

of the Field.” Please save the date and

make plans to attend. Young seniors are

especially welcomed as we like to reach not

only those within the WRBC church body,

but also others in the community to which

we have extended an invitation. It is a

luncheon where as a senior you can bring

your friends and expose them to a few

hours of God’s love and devotions.

January 13, 2013, a WRBC semi-

annual business meeting took place to dis-

cuss and approve some minor changes in

the church’s constitution. Also discussed

was the status of the church’s 33-passenger

bus and the continued use of it. It is with

grateful praise the meeting went well as the

quorum was met in agreement on all ac-

counts.

Mike Pandolfini in the leadership of

the Missions Committee has connected

with our missionaries in the field and has been securing dates to bring some of the

missionaries into the fellowship of the

church to keep WRBC current in their ac-

tivities. On February 10, 2013, Tim &

Marcia Monahan will be at WRBC to share

a pot luck dinner in the fellowship hall af-

ter the Lord’s Day service. Please ma

your calendars.

Also in the planning is a visit fro

Marvin & Denise Robinson, who are tent

tively scheduled to visit with WRBC som

time in late June; Joe & Denise Holm

optimistically plan to be at WRBC som

time in September 0r October.

In order to fulfill the Lord’s purpo

for the New Testament Church, Past

Glass continues to teach the “Basic Bib

Themes” each Lord’s Day in Sunday Scho

at 9:45 am; as well as his series of expos

tory studies in the Gospel of Matthew du

ing the 11:00 am service, also on the Lord

Day; Pastor Glass leads a Bible study lat

on the Lord’s Day with an open discussio

studying I Corinthians, meeting in differe

homes each month; and most essential, t

Wednesday night Bible Study and pray

meeting which meets at 7:00 pm. It

therefore our commitment to one anoth

and to our Lord to be a fellowship of lig

as we continue to meet and share with o

another. WRBC is always on a road of di

covery and commitment to our Lord Jes

Christ with an open invitation to all see

ing Him.

As 2012 ended with an unusually m

start of the winter, it was not a big surpri

when a snow storm on January 2

brought the arctic air to Long Island, witemperatures dipping into the single dig

for the first time in a few years. Pray th

these cold temperatures do not bring har

ships or illness to anyone. May God ke

you all in His care? ⎯ Joan Tysk

A A mmeenn?? OOrr OOhh,, mmee!!

Ahhh, February—‘holiday’ gatherings have

ended and the ‘gathering’ of documents for

‘Uncle Sam’ has begun, for he will soon beexpecting ‘his’ portion of ‘our’ last year’s

income. And it is also the time we church

members are handed a factual record of

how much we obviously considered God’s

‘portion’ of our income from last year.

Ask most Christians, ‘how much of the

world belongs to God?’, and we’ll piously

say ‘all of it!’. Scripture agrees that: “The

earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof,

the world and those who dwell therein”

(Psalm 24:1); but evidently, most of us

don’t act as though we believe it.

I was struck by this glaring contradic-

tion while listening to a recent sermon by

our friend and former pastor, Joe Braden(embracetheword.org), entitled “The Lord

Gives…And Gives Again”, when he quoted

some statistics from a January 2008 article

in Christianity Today entitled “Scrooge

Lives” that left me exclaiming out loud,

WHAT?!?! Are you serious????? I’m curi-

ous to see if these statements shock you as

much as they shocked me! According to

the author, Rob Moll,

• MORE than 1 out of 4 Protestants give

absolutely NOTHING to the church,

not even a token $5 per year.

• That the median ANNUAL giving f

an evangelical ‘Christian’ is abo

$200! • That 5% of ‘Christians’ provide 60%

the operating budget for God’s work.

• That the more money someone make

the less likely they are to tithe!

• Those who made less than $20,000/

gave 2.3% of their income, while tho

making greater than $70,000 on

gave 1.2% of their income.

If you are not shocked, you should b

And when the disbelief wears off, I ho

that, like me, you are heartbroken at t

implication of this. What sort of testimo



is that for a people who profess that their

God is ‘sufficient’ for all their needs?!?

Pastor Braden then asked if we were

aware that in the OT God’s people were

forbidden to come before Him empty-

handed! (No, I was not aware.) Look at

Deuteronomy 16:16: “They shall not appear

before the LORD empty-handed.” He then

posed the question: “Why would God de-

mand that? Did He ‘need’ their money?”

Certainly not! Look at Psalm 50:10-12:“For every beast of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all

the birds of the hills, and all that moves in

the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would

not tell you, for the world and its fullness

are mine.” Then why do you suppose He

forbade them to come empty-handed? To

quote Pastor Braden:

“Because coming before the Lord

empty-handed was a false testimony

concerning the Lord’s faithfulness. He

has never left His people empty-

handed, so therefore, to appear before Him empty-handed is to make a

statement that He is unfaithful to

provide for His people! We are to

make a personal statement that the

Lord provides for His people! How?

The Lord’s people can make a state-

ment—and prove that the Lord is

faithful to meet the needs of His peo-

ple, when they take what the Lord has

given to them, and the first thing they

do is give it back to God. In the OT,

the first and finest 10th would be given

back to the Lord, for in giving the first

and the finest 10th of what belonged toGod in the first place, it was represen-

tative of giving back to God the total-

ity of what they had been given.”

Now, I want you to read and consider what

Moll described as “The $85.5 Billion Gap”:

“American Christians' lack of generosity

might not be as shocking if it didn't con-

trast so starkly with their astounding

wealth. Passing the Plate's researchers say

committed American Christians—those

who say their faith is very important to

them and those who attend church at least

twice a month—earn more than $2.5 tril-lion dollars every year. On their own, these

Christians could be admitted to the G7, the

group of the world's seven largest econo-

mies. Smith and his coauthors estimate

that if these Christians gave away 10 per-

cent of their after-tax earnings, they would

add another $46 billion to ministry around

the world.”

Reading this makes me writhe in em-

barrassment for the family of God. Do we

really trust Him so little? It’s no secret that

we obey Him so little—that’s out in the

wide open for everyone to see—but this, my

friend, is a family scandal of epic propor-

tions!

‘Uncle Sam’ demands his due—and we

come forth with it, because we fear the

consequences of not doing so. God expects

us to obey Him because we love Him (as

in: “if you love Me you will keep My com-

mandments” John 14:15)…and we shrug

Him off as if we couldn’t care less. Ever

wondered what it would be like if God waslike ‘Uncle Sam’—and demanded his ‘por-

tion’ (or else!)? Wow, talk about ‘tithes

into the storehouse!’

Churches would have dependable heat

and air, funds to pay the bills, and no

more sagging pews, threadbare carpets, or

tired décor that so often define mission-

minded congregations. Pothole-free park-

ing lots, leak-free roofs, and pastors in the

mission field with funds to start a Sunday

School, an orphanage, or a school as they

labor in those ‘fields so white unto the har-

vest’. Missionaries fully funded, the true gospel blanketing the airwaves, and Chris-

tian disaster relief immediate. Bibles

translated into every conceivable language

and dialect saturating the world’s land-

scape. Yes, the whole world could shortly

hear the ‘good news’ that we so heartily

purport to believe in but so miserably fail

to financially support . And, as an added

bonus, no ministry would need to be calling

at suppertime soliciting donations! But,

hey, if God were like our dear old “uncle,”

He’d be demanding about a 40-50% cut of

‘our’ proceeds, wouldn’t He?

Funny thing is God’s plan for funding would work even better—if His people be-

lieved Him enough to try it. You see He

intends for us to be so grateful for His

provision that we joyfully and willingly

offer back to Him the choicest portion—

with the understanding that in doing so, we

will be double beneficiaries—first of His

provision, and then sharing in the bless-

ings that result from the gift we give back

to Him! If only we actually trusted enough

to obey, God can take our ‘loaves & fish’

offerings, and multiply it at least five thou-

sand times! (Can I get a witness, here? Or just a great, big, OUCH!?)

Chuck Swindoll tells of a man who

confessed that when he made a small

yearly income it didn’t seem hard to tithe,

but now he found it almost impossible to

tithe on so much money! Saying he under-

stood perfectly, Swindoll asked if he could

pray with the man about it, and began

“Lord, we come to you with this brother’s

concerns about tithing. When he only

made that small income he felt able to give

you back your portion, but now, Lord, he is

struggling to do that. So right now, Lor

I’m asking you to reduce his income

where it was, so that he may again find

easy to be obedient to you.” At this t

man jumped to his feet, and yelled “WAI

WAIT! That’s not what I meant !!!”

While we can chuckle at this, it illu

trates a sad reality, which is the more w

‘have’, the more ‘ownership’ we tend

take of it. Ever notice when your kids g

an “A” on their report card they sproudly “Look what I made!” But, if th

come home with an “F”, they mutter dark

“Look what that teacher gave me!”? W

are so like the Israelites of old, as God a

dressed them both in Malachi 3:8-9 an

Haggai 1:4-9 about being disobedient an

stingy towards Him and taking care of the

own ‘business’ while ignoring His: “W

man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. B

you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’

your tithes and contributions. You a

cursed with a curse, for you are robbi

me, the whole nation of you.” And, “…th

says the LORD of hosts: Consider yo

ways. You have sown much, and harvest

little. You eat, but you never have enoug

you drink, but you never have your fill. Y

clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. An

he who earns wages does so to put the

into a bag with holes”….“You looked f

much, and behold, it came to little. An

when you brought it home, I blew it awa

Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Becau

of my house that lies in ruins, while each

you busies himself with his own hous

God is zealous for His ‘house’, so we mu

be, as well! At the risk of offending, there’s

prickly subject we all need to address:

light of this data, if God’s people are on

giving back to God about 2% of their i

come, then that must mean there’s a lot

God’s money—at least 8%, or roughly

the amount actually given back to Him

that is evidently being spent by them! Ou

again. So don’t we need to be asking ou

selves if we are spending God’s money

that He intends for His ‘house’—on o

‘house’? Are we driving a car that God

money is purchasing? Is God unwitting

‘treating us’ when we eat out? Or, did Go

‘fund’ our last vacation? Or, is perhaps a

of God’s money sitting in a savings accou

with our name on it?

Because of my own consternati

with the stats in that article, I divided o

contribution amount by 365 to reveal o

daily contribution to the Lord last ye

then did the same with our mortgage pa

ment—just to see the difference in what w

were paying for ‘our’ house each day vers

what we contributed to God’s ‘house’. I w

shamefully startled at the huge gap. Wh



still gazing in this painful ‘mirror’, I di-

vided our contribution by our approximate

income, and, using the word ‘tithe’ as a

literal “tenth”, we may have barely

squeaked by the mark. Ouch... God lav-

ishes, and we ‘squeak by’?

‘Well ,’ pride whispered, ‘at least you

give more than the ‘median’ of $200!’ …but

somehow pride’s words fell flat. I didn’t

feel a bit better. We can do better than

this! God said His people had been robbinghim of tithes “and contributions”, and

‘squeaking by’ with the tithe means we

literally gave no ‘contributions’—and that

must change immediately. I thought to

myself, ‘how can we leave church, having

put nothing in the plate that week, and go

out and spend $40-50 on lunch! Can’t we

at least ‘buy God’s lunch’ on Sunday, in

addition to ‘squeaking by’ with a tithe?’ If

we ‘treated’ God to a hypothetical $25

lunch every week for 52 weeks, we would

give an annual ‘contribution’ of $1300/yr

or $3.56/day—far less than most people

spend for lunch each day. In refusing to do

at least this, are we saying we won’t even

buy God a ‘Happy Meal’ each day this

year? When put that way: Double ouch!

Okay, I’ve had my confession time.

How about you? Dare you divide your con-

tribution total by your household income?

Is it greater than 10%? Or, like us, did you

barely squeak by that 10% mark? Perhaps

you gave less than 10% but more than the

‘median’ income of $200? Or sadly, as you

look at it, it’s just too small to mention—so

small you are going to STOP READING

THIS ARTICLE RIGHT NOW BECAUSETHE LAST THING YOU NEED IN YOUR

LIFE IS ANOTHER GUILT TRIP!

I get it. I don’t like ‘guilt trips’ either—

and, for me, consistent tithing is one way to

avoid a huge one. But my response is sim-

ply: don’t kill the messenger, my friend.

Giving back to God a portion of what He

blesses us with is His idea, not mine! We

are ALL selfish and we ALL have financial

needs. But, we must make sure that the

money we spend on ‘our’ business is what

God has allowed us to keep, and not what is

due Him. James 4:17 says “So whoeverknows the right thing to do and fails to do

it, for him it is sin.” I am convinced that

tithing is the ‘right thing to do’, so a failure

for me to do it is sin.

W ould it be easier to tithe if we only

made $20,000/year as the data seems to

suggest? Hey, God can arrange that! Not an

appealing thought? Well, what excuse are

we giving if He has blessed us with more?

The most common is “I just can’t afford it,”

which, on paper, may be true. But if it is,

the bad news is that we’ve based our

budget on an income that includes some-

one else’s money. But the good news is that

God ‘has an app for that’! Simply APPly

what He said in Malachi 3:10: “Bring the

full tithe into the storehouse, that there

may be food in my house. And thereby put

me to the test , says the LORD of hosts, if I

will not open the windows of heaven for

you and pour down for you a blessing until

there is no more need .”

Does this remind you of something? InI Kings 17, God sent Elijah to Zarephath, to

a widow He’d ‘commanded’ to take care of

the prophet, and upon arrival, Elijah asked

for a drink of water. As she went to get it,

he added, “Bring me a morsel of bread in

your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the LORD

your God lives, I have nothing baked, only

a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a

jug. And now I am gathering a couple of

sticks that I may go in and prepare it for

myself and my son, that we may eat it and

die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear;

go and do as you have said. But first make

me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and

afterward make something for yourself and

your son. 14 For thus says the LORD, the

God of Israel , ‘The jar of flour shall not be

spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty,

until the day that the LORD sends rain upon

the earth.’ Friends, she wasn’t ‘behind on

her bills’—this was a mother watching her

child starve to death. She surely ‘couldn’t

afford’ to tithe—much offer all of it! She’d

just told him that she had just enough for a

final meal before they died! But, against all

odds, she obeyed ‘the Word of the Lord’

rather than following her ‘common sense’:“she went and did as Elijah said.” Good

choice, for “The jar of flour was not spent,

neither did the jug of oil become empty,

according to the word of the LORD” What

she did seems totally irrational, but be-

cause she trusted God’s Word, and obeyed

His command—she and her household

were completely provided for!

The bad news is that Elijah, that

mighty miracle-working prophet of God, is

not here anymore. But the good news is

that one greater than Elijah IS here! When

asked about the prophecy that Elijah would

precede the messiah, Jesus said: For all the

Prophets and the Law prophesied until

John, and if you are willing to accept it, he

is Elijah who is to come.” (Matt.11:14) No,

think about that: If John was ‘ Elijah who is

to come’, then, by John’s own testimony,

one greater than Elijah has come—whose

sandals John declared he was ‘unfit to un-

tie’! Jesus is greater than Elijah—and He

says “Come to me, all who labor and are

heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” and

He assures us if we “Seek first the kingdom

of God and His righteousness” then “all

these things”—these needs we have— w

be met because God knows that we ne

them. And Jesus said surely if we, bei

evil, know how to give good gifts to o

own children, then how much more w

our Father in Heaven provide for us? An

are we not more valuable than a sparrow

Are we not more precious to Him than t

grass? He says yes! We are! And as Past

Braden stated so eloquently: “God know

our need, He cares about our need, and Hwill respond to that need. God has nev

left His children empty-handed, for He

faithful to provide for His own, and w

His children, are to be a witness to th

faithfulness by joyfully offering back to hi

the first and the finest of what He bless

us with.”

My, my, we Christians so readily pr

fess to ‘trust’ God, singing, “Trust a

obey, for there’s no other way.” But sayi

and doing are two different things, righ

Trust is scary when the stakes are high an

the bills eat up every penny. The truth

the matter is that ‘trust’ is just a concep

until it’s put to the test—just like all insu

ance companies are the same until you f

a claim; for then, and only then, will y

know what kind of insurance you rea

have. By the same token, all ‘concepts’

God are the same until you actually ‘le

upon the promises’, for it is then and on

then that will you find out if you are wo

shipping the true God, the God of the B

ble—or simply the God of your imagin

tion.

We sing: “Great is Thy Faithfulness,

God my Father, there is no shadow turning with thee. Thou changest not: t

compassions—they fail not! As thou ha

been, thou forever wilt be… Great is T

Faithfulness! Great is Thy Faithfulnes

morning by morning new mercies I se

All I have needed thy hand hath pr

vided…great is thy faithfulness, Lord un

me.” But friend, does the profound truth

it resonate in our hearts and lives? I cann

speak for others, but “as for me and m

house, we will serve the Lord” with o

finances. To whom much has been give

much is required. God has blessed us a

out of humble and grateful hearts we w

gladly offer back the first and finest

Him, for He is worthy, and deserves it a

Oh, wait —it all belongs to Him anywa

He just lets us keep the lion’s share of

because that’s what kind of God He is.

⎯Martie Best



FFee b brruuaarr y y 22001133 The Lord’s Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2

3 9:45 AM Sunday

School (continuation of

“Basic Bible Themes”)

11:00 AM Morning

Worship Service

5:00 PM Bible Study

(Hofmann home)

4 5 6 7:00 PM

Prayer Meeting and

Exposition of Psalms

7 8:30 AM

Ladies Prayer

– Joan Tyska(727-5998)

8 9

10 9:45 AM Sunday

School

11:00 AM Morning

Worship Service (Tim

Monahan in the pulpit)

Fellowship Dinner w/

Monahans to follow

11 12 7:00 PM

Board of

Deacons

13 7:00 PM

Prayer Meeting and


14 8:30 AM

Ladies Prayer 15 16

17 9:45 AM Sunday

School

11:00 AM Morning

Worship Service

Bible Study (TBA)

18 19 20 7:00 PM

Prayer Meeting and


21 8:30 AM

Ladies Prayer

22 23

24 9:45 AM Sunday

School

11:00 AM Morning

Worship Service

25 26 27 7:00 PM

Prayer Meeting and


28 8:30 AM

Ladies Prayer

FFee b brruuaarr y y Bible Quiz Questions

1) What was Jesus’s first miracle and where did it take place?

2) Who killed the Canaanite general, Sisera, and how?

3) Name the 12 disciples and cite the four passages in the New

Testament in which they are listed.

4) Provide the names of at least five of the men who wrote Psalms.

5) According to the Apostle Paul, more than ____ people who would

eventually become Christians were eyewitnesses of the resurrected

Christ.

Bonus: What are the Dead Sea Scrolls? Who found them, and where?

⎯ Virginia Sylvester

JJaannuuaarr y y Bible Quiz Answers

1) Saul (1 Samuel 24:17).

2) Naboth (1 Kings 21:13).

3) Ben-ammi (Genesis 19:38).

4) Adoni-bezek (Judges 1:6-7).

5) Beth-el (Judges 1:23; Genesis 28:19).

Bonus: The tongue (Psalm 52:2).

Congratulations to Virginia Sylvester, sister of

Joan Tyska, for submitting all five correct answers

plus the bonus to the January Bible Quiz!

TThhee BBiirrtthhddaa y y CCoorrnneerr

February 2nd – Kevin Kenter

February 3rd – John PirainoFebruary 4th – Janet Perry

February 4th – Janice Manges

TThhee A A nnnnii v v eerrssaarr y y CCoorrnneerr

Pastor and Maureen Glass’s20th anniversary of ministry at Wading River Baptist Church


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/february13-beacon 8/88

PO Box 438Wading River, NY 11792

Our Purpose

1. To glorify God through sharing

the good news of salvation by God’s

sovereign grace through faith in His

Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. To nurture believers through a

strong program of Christian educa-

tion, youth ministries, and expository

Biblical preaching.

3. To provide an opportunity for

Biblical worship, service, and fellow-

ship.

4. To extend our ministry through-

out America and around the world

through participation in home and

foreign missions.

WRBC is affiliated with the Conserva-

tive Baptist Association of America

and the Conservative Baptist Mission

to the Northeast.

Wading River Baptist Church

• For the Exaltation of God in All Things

• For the Proclamation of Faith in Christ

• For the Transformation of God’s Peopl e

February13 Beacon

Documents

Transcript of February13 Beacon