Archive for May, 2009

References for Conclusions on Biblical Giving

Friday, May 8th, 2009

Conclusions With Supporting References

The Bible teaches us that:

  • Christians should regard everything they have as coming from God and being owned by God. (Deuteronomy 10:14, Psalm 50:10-12, Deuteronomy 8:17-18)
  • Christians should give generously, sacrificially, cheerfully, and as God leads them to give.  (Second Corinthians 9:7; 1 Timothy 6:17)
  • The Old Testament tithe was of agricultural products only. (Those who made a living through commerce did not tithe on the portion of their income that came from commerce.)  (Deuteronomy 14:22, Deuteronomy 26:12-13)
    Or see http://www.setfreetogive.com/b31.htm#moses
  • In Old Testament times, the largest portion of an individual’s tithe was not given to the priests or the temple. Instead, the largest portion of the tithe was consumed by the person (and his family) giving the tithe and/or was given to the poor and needy.  (Deuteronomy 14:22-29, Deuteronomy 26:12-13)   Or see http://www.setfreetogive.com/b31.htm#moses

Historical writings teach us that:

  • The Pharisees taught a form of the tithe that went far beyond the tithe set forth in the Scriptures, including tithing on all forms of income, not just agricultural income. (Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus, The Messiah, Book III page 312;
    http://books.google.com/books?id=EyGls9iGbSgC&pg=PA312&lpg=PA312&dq=Alfred+Edersheim+tithe+pharisee&source=bl&ots=PPdsddwYr3&sig=TK61UTGpjcvlsMnM59ieJPCYxLE&hl=en&ei=Mzn4Sd2gIqakNdv1haoP&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPA312,M1    )
  • The tithe was not a practice of the early church.
    See Set Free To Give page 110 http://www.setfreetogive.com/b107.htm
  • The tithe was ordained by the church hundreds of years after Christ to support the church’s infrastructure and building programs.
  • See Set Free To Give page 110 http://www.setfreetogive.com/b107.htm
    or The Catholic Encyclopedia at http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Tithes or  http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Tithes

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How to Remove Mildew From Hunting Boots

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Last October I hunted the early West River deer season in South Dakota and had a great time.  The only thing that marred the experience was that on the last day of the hunt it rained heavily and my almost-new Irish Setter hunting boots with 600-gram Thinsulate and Gore-tex linings got soaked inside because I neglected to wear waterproof pants which allowed my long underwear and the insides of the boots to get very wet.

When I got home I made the mistake of setting the boots aside and promptly forgot about them until mid-November when I got them out for another hunting trip. To my dismay the boots had an overpowering smell of mildew. I didn’t have time to deal with the mildew before I left on another hunting trip so I just put up with the smell until hunting season was over.

After hunting season ended, I emailed W.L. Gore and asked them for recommendations on ways to get remove the mildew without damaging the gore-tex.  Gore’s customer service department recommended soaking the boots in a solution of Lysol. I just couldn’t bring myself to do that so I spent a hour or so with Google, searching for other solutions.

Google turned up several recommendations for a product called Mirazyme. I ordered two bottles and gave it a try.

Mirazyme by itself didn’t eliminate all of the mildew odor, but it helped a great deal.  What the Mirazyme didn’t get rid of was removed with Silver Scent Eliminator with Colloidal Silver.

Here’s the process that I followed that eventually got rid of the smell of mildew.

1. I soaked the boots twice for 10 minutes in a Mirazyme solution consisting  of about 1/2 oz of Mirazyme to 8 gallons of water.  Each time I dried the boots over a heater vent. The first soaking rid the boots of about 50% of the mildew smell. The second soaking got rid of only a little more of the smell.

2. Next I followed the advice on the McNett web site for dealing with very stubborn odors.  I soaked the boots twice for five minutes in a Mirazyme solution consisting of about 2 oz  of Mirazyme to two gallons of water. Again, after each soaking I dried the boots over a heater vent. After the first soaking in the stronger solution the boots smelled much better.  After the second soaking, most, but not all of the smell of mildew was gone.

Unfortunately, there was just enough smell of mildew left to still bother me.

3. Finally, I sprayed the inside of the boots until they were wet to the touch with Primos Hunting Calls Silver Scent Eliminator with Colloidal Silver (Model No. 58001).  Then I set the boots outside in the sun to dry.

I’m pleased to report that the Silver Scent Eliminator removed the last vestige of the odor of mildew!

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I Am Not the Man I Want To Be

Monday, May 4th, 2009

Our adult Sunday School class is studying Romans and this week we are in Romans chapter 5.  Romans chapter 5 is very rich in doctrine, but verse 17 seems particularly relevant to me at this time.  Romans 5:17 says

17For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

William R. Newell, in his excellent commentary on Romans “Romans Verse by Verse” wrote: Let us refuse to be content with a Christian existence that cannot finally be summed up as “He reigned in life through Jesus Christ,” — over sin, Satan, the world, difficulties, adverse surroundings and circumstances.

David Livingstone early wrote in his diary, “I have found that I have no unusual endowments of intellect, but I this day resolved that I would be an uncommon Christian.”

I think most of the time I’m a pretty common Christian.  I pray that from this day forward my life will be one of uncommon Christianity.

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