¹If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

   ²If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.

   ³If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

   ⁴If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.

   ⁵If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man’s field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.

   ⁶If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

   ⁷If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man’s house; if the thief be found, let him pay double.

   ⁸If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods.

   ⁹For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.

   ¹⁰If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it:

   ¹¹Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.

   ¹²And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.

   ¹³If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.

   ¹⁴And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good.

   ¹⁵But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.

   ¹⁶And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.

   ¹⁷If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.

   ¹⁸Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

   ¹⁹Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.

   ²⁰He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

   ²¹Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

   ²²Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.

   ²³If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;

   ²⁴And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

   ²⁵If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.

   ²⁶If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:

   ²⁷For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.

   ²⁸Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.

   ²⁹Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.

   ³⁰Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.

   ³¹And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.

 ¹And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

   ²And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:

   ³And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs:

   ⁴And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.

   ⁵And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.

   ⁶And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.

   ⁷And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.

   ⁸Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD.

   ⁹And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?

   ¹⁰And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.

   ¹¹And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only.

   ¹²And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh.

   ¹³And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields.

   ¹⁴And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.

   ¹⁵But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

   ¹⁶And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

   ¹⁷And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

   ¹⁸And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.

   ¹⁹Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

   ²⁰And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

   ²¹Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.

   ²²And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.

   ²³And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.

   ²⁴And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.

   ²⁵And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.

   ²⁶And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?

   ²⁷We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.

   ²⁸And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.

   ²⁹And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.

   ³⁰And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD.

   ³¹And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.

   ³²And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

¹Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

   ²I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

   ³And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

   ⁴Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

   ⁵Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

   ⁶But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.

   ⁷He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

   ⁸And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

   ⁹I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

   ¹⁰Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

   ¹¹He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

   ¹²And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

   ¹³I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

   ¹⁴But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

   ¹⁵So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.

   ¹⁶Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

   ¹⁷He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

   ¹⁸And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

   ¹⁹I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

   ²⁰Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

   ²¹And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

   ²²Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

   ²³And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

   ²⁴But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

   ²⁵But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

   ²⁶And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

   ²⁷And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

   ²⁸And I will give him the morning star.

   ²⁹He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Come now, you rich [people], weep aloud and lament over the miseries (the woes) that are surely coming upon you. 2 Your abundant wealth has rotted and is ruined, and your [many] garments have become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are completely rusted through, and their rust will be testimony against you and it will devour your flesh as if it were fire. You have heaped together treasure for the last days. 4[But] look! [Here are] the wages that you have withheld by fraud from the laborers who have reaped your fields, crying out [for vengeance]; and the cries of the harvesters have come to the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5[Here] on earth you have abandoned yourselves to soft (prodigal) living and to [the pleasures of] self-indulgence and self-gratification. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and have murdered the righteous (innocent man), [while] he offers no resistance to you.  James 5:1-6 AMP

It is not a sin to be rich, neither is it holy to be poor. The Bible shows us that all of God’s obedient covenant friends were blessed beyond measure – for instance, Genesis 13:2 AMP says that “Abram was extremely rich in livestock and in silver and in gold” – God promises to bless all of His children, who obey His Word. God made Abraham rich – not man and not Abraham himself. It is not wealth that ruins people’s lives – it is covetousness. You are covetous when you trust in your wealth and possessions more than you trust in God and if you find it difficult or impossible to give them away. 

God has a great plan for the peoples of the earth – His will is that every person would hear and know what He has done for them and that they would be delivered from sin and from hell and that they would receive eternal life. Every person who hears and receives the Gospel and who has been transformed by the saving grace and the blood of Jesus Christ has a godly responsibility to share this great news with the world.

If you are a Christian then you have God’s heart – or you should. You are part of the family – you have the privileges and the responsibilities of a family member. The Lord promises that if you lend to the poor He will repay you and if you bless the ministry, then God will overtake you with blessings. You have to realize that God blesses you in order to make you a blessing and when you are a blessing, He blesses you some more! He is unwilling to abandon or to do without a cheerful, generous, prompt-to-do-it giver!

It is not angels who bring money and provision to God’s laborers on a daily basis – that is not their function – that is our function – you and me. The devil is not going to fund the gospel! The world is not going to build God’s kingdom! You represent God and if you don’t do your part, if you don’t do the right thing – the kingdom of God will suffer!  You are God’s arm on the earth to bring relief, blessing and sustenance, on God’s behalf, everywhere you go. If you do not use your resources to fund the preaching of the gospel then who will? God does not have anybody else but you and me.

Ministers – you are commissioned to obey God and His Word and to be faithful with your call, your anointing and everything else that God has placed in your hands, including money!

Christian business people – You are called to support those who preach the Gospel! You are commissioned to be faithful with the call that is on your life and with the financial resources that God has placed in your hands! You have a holy obligation to share the blessing of the Lord with those who work in the harvest fields. God does not even call it a gift – He calls it “wages” as if it is owed as payment for work done.

Don’t think that those who are called to ministry are the only ones who have to give an account for how they use their money and their time – you will have an opportunity to give an account to God for how you used your money and your time as well! Always remember that any wealth that you give into the kingdom of God is stored away, incorruptible and immovable for your eternity. However, any wealth that you store up here on earth is subject to the elements – it could get moth-eaten, rusted, corroded, ruined and wasted.

Your wealth will be a testimony for or against you. The wealth you give to God and to the preaching of the Gospel and to the building of God’s kingdom on the earth will testify in Heaven of your trust in God and your love for Him, your obedience and your faithfulness and you will be rewarded. The wealth you wasted, the wealth you trusted in and held onto and stored up here on earth will testify against you. It testifies of your rebellion, selfishness, fear, covetousness and unfaithfulness and you will lose out on all the rewards that could have been yours.

It is not a sin to be rich, but it is a sin to be covetous and selfish. If you would make it your responsibility to share your wealth with those who labor in the harvest fields, then God will see to it that you are richly rewarded here on the earth and also in Heaven.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.  Isaiah 9:6-7 KJV

 

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.  Revelations 1:18 KJV

 

Jesus was sent from the Father to take back the authority of the earth from the devil and to give it back to man. Jesus has the ultimate authority, but He gives believers the right to use His Name in the earth to take authority over the devil and demons and over sickness, disease, poverty, death, and everything else that hell has to offer. As we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, we also celebrate His death – He was born to die in order to defeat the devil and to redeem mankind. Thanks be to God – Jesus fully accomplished the thing that He was sent to do.

 

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. 16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.  Luke 4:14-21 KJV

 

Jesus came to heal, deliver, and set us free. Jesus heals, delivers, and sets us free because it is His nature to heal, deliver and set free. He heals, delivers, and sets us free because He loves us. He healed, delivered and set people free while He was on the earth and He is still doing it today.

 

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.  Acts 10:38 KJV

 

God anointed Jesus, on the earth, with the Holy Ghost and power so that He could do good and heal all that were oppressed of the devil. Today, Jesus anoints us with the Holy Ghost and power so that we can do good and heal all that were oppressed of the devil. As far as God is concerned, healing and setting free is a good thing!

 

We can honor Jesus today by continuing to do His works on the earth today. There is a great attack on all things supernatural today. The devil is trying to suck people into the bondage of the occult and the demonic through psychics, witchcraft, speaking to the dead, Satanism and other ungodly religions. In the mean time, sadly, the Church is backing off of the Holy Spirit, the anointing and the display of the power of God. This is not a time for the Church to be wishy-washy and mealy-mouthed, but it is time for the Church to rise up in faith and power and take back what the devil has stolen. Let us honor Jesus this Christmas, and always, by following His example and doing His will and His works.

 

 

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.   James 1:2-8 NIV

 

Why does it seem as if some people are stable and solid and blessed whilst others seem to be constantly unstable and always in the middle of a crisis?

 

These unstable people are blown all over the place by every wind of adversity that comes their way. Their circumstances totally control them – controlling their attitude, their mouth and their actions. They are full of doubt and fear. The word of God says that if you are a doubter, you are like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. You don’t know what it is that you believe. You are double-minded and therefore unstable in all you attempt to do. Because you are unstable and you don’t know what you believe and you can’t make up your mind what it is you want – you don’t receive anything from the Lord!

 

On the contrary, the man of faith – who knows what he believes and in whom he believes and what it is that he wants – is solid and stable. Because he asks clearly and he believes absolutely that God’s word is true, he receives what he asks for!

 

“Why do you call me, `Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”   Luke 6:46-49 NIV

 

You can call God your Lord, but do you really believe that He is your Lord? Do you really act like He is your Lord? “Lord” means “Master” – the boss! The boss tells you what to do. Do you do what He tells you to do? The only ones who have a right to call God “Lord” are those who do what He tells them to do and who put His words into practice. The person, who is a doer of the word, digs down deep to build the foundation of his house. He digs down into God’s word and he lets God’s word dig down deep on the inside of him! He builds his house – his life – on the foundation of God’s word by receiving it as if it is written to him alone and by applying it as if it is a command to him.

 

The person who hears God’s word, but does not receive it personally by doing it or acting on it is building his house – his life – without any foundation. Even though it may look good on the outside it is neither solid nor secure and the first storm is going to blow it away!

 

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-he will be blessed in what he does.  James 1:22-25 NIV

 

Those who hear the word and still do not receive it as written to them, nor put it into practice, are trapped in the bondage of self-deception. God’s word gives freedom. Those who receive God’s word and don’t forget it, but are careful to do it, will be blessed in all that they do.

 

If we want to be blessed, we should read God’s word as if it says on every page, “This means YOU!”