Who Is This Uncircumcised Virus?

Today during the message at church, a thought occurred to me I have never had before. Thanks to my Pastor, Paul Daugherty for such a great message, but most importantly for bringing this little bit of insight to me, by way of the Holy Spirit. When I wasn’t a Christian, just a small boy in the Methodist church my parents attended, I knew the story of David and Goliath. I paid extra close attention I’m sure because we share the same name, and I often wondered if I could have done what he did when facing down the giant.

What I never thought about until today however, was what the people around David were really thinking prior to him actually confronting Goliath. I know what his brothers thought when he showed up to bring them food and find out for their father Jesse how the war was going. They were mad at him, saying he’d just come to see a battle, of course at this time there hadn’t been any battles. It had actually been forty days, and on every single one of those days, Goliath came out and taunted King Saul and his army saying, “Come out to fight us. If you defeat us, we will be your slaves, but if we defeat you, you become ours.”

David showed up one day just as Goliath was making his usual speech, and what he saw was the Israeli army running away from the battle lines, saying things like, “Have you seen him? He’s a giant!” But an interesting thing happened as well, they also reported to David how the king had promised to give his daughter in marriage to the man who defeated Goliath, and making his family free from having to pay any taxes. When David heard this, he went to another man asking what would be done for the man who killed the giant, and it was reported to him the same thing. David’s response was different from that of every other man, he said, “Who does this uncircumcised Philistine think he is, that he is allowed to defy the army of the living God?” It wasn’t too long before this was reported back to King Saul, and David found himself standing in the king’s tent.

What I hadn’t seen until today, was how the army of Israel had been watching Goliath spew his taunts in their direction for forty days straight, and not one of them had enough faith to face him, including King Saul. It was probably easier to believe the report of how they were all going to die because of this giant looming before them, with each passing day. Talk had to be about how big the giant was, and what a man of this caliber could do to each and everyone of them. By the fortieth day, Goliath was probably like Superman to them, invincible. The difference between the army and David however was in the reporting. David didn’t know who Goliath was, but the army did, because they had been focusing on the problem before them for forty days, instead of on the God who had saved their nation time and time again.

What struck me today was how the year 2020 with it’s Covid virus fear inspiring pandemic was an awful lot like Goliath standing before the army of Israel. I’m not denying the fact people contracted this virus and some of them even died, just as David never denied the fact Goliath was a giant, he just properly called him what he was; an uncircumcised Philistine. The use of the word “uncircumcised” is covenant talk. This meant Goliath did not have an agreement with God like each and every one of the Israeli men in the army did, so he was subject to the man who did have a covenant with God. David even went on to say he had killed a lion and a bear while watching his father’s sheep, and this Philistine would be no different; God would help him in this battle just like He had in those others.

One thing about David however, he did listen to the reports of the older wise men in the room, respecting his elders. He even tried wearing King Saul’s armor to face the giant. But ultimately told the king he had never worn armor and it would just get in his way, opting to stand against his enemy with the clothes on his back and a sling in his hand. It’s interesting he felt he had to face the giant with what he knew, and not with what man thinks is important. I think we should listen to the reports, just not make them our focus. But when we’re told we have to do something which goes against what we know and believe to be right and true, we have to stand up and say, “Thank you very much, but who is this uncircumcised virus? I’ll face it head on with God, that’s what I’m going to do,” and then go and do that.

One thing you should know however and be ready for, is when you stand in faith against a giant, the crowd around you will ridicule you. Standing in faith goes against what the crowd says and does, if it didn’t, then everyone would stand up in faith and defeat the giants in life. I’m sure you’ve experienced it at least once in your life, being ridiculed for saying or doing something the world around you will not do because of fear. People who are operating in fear instead of faith get mad at the ones who are using their faith, and will do just about anything to make you feel like you’re the one who is in the wrong.

I believe it is time for us to stop being like the army of Israel, walking in fear every time the media reports something about Covid or any other media filled frenzied event. Then, we need to go down to the stream, find some smooth stones to put in our shepherd’s pouch and be ready to sling stones back at the enemy who is trying to keep us Christians quiet. And it’s definitely time for those of us who are Christians to stop being timid (play awe inspiring music here) and to stop running away from the problems, but run towards them, facing head on whatever is set against us, with a tenacity that is written about in our instruction manual (the Bible). I think if more of us would stop listening to the crowd and focus on hearing God, we would see amazing things happen just like David did in the Bible.

Well, there’s that…for the Kingdom and the King, shalom!

A Father’s Love

If a picture paints a thousand words is how the song “If” by David Gates starts and it’s a very true statement; a single picture can say way more than I ever could. And that’s just what the picture I’ve posted here does for me.

When I look at this picture (which is the background on my phone) it reminds me of the love that God has for His children. It’s a love that passes any type of human understanding, I mean come on, the Creator of the universe wants to spend time just being in my presence? Wow! This humbles me every time I think about it.

There are two things in this picture; one that Everly has a complete and utter look of wonder on her face as she’s looking out the window and two, her dad is holding her feet, not to keep her from falling, but just showing his love for her by being close.

This one picture says more about God’s love for mankind than any other picture I’ve ever seen. I just wanted to share it with you and say, God loves you this much and just wants to spend time in your presence today. Why don’t you slow down just a hair and let Him surround you and hold your feet while you gaze out in wonder at all He’s done for you?

Strength and honor, for the Kingdom and the King!

God Doesn’t Need Your $$$

I’ve been writing for a long time now, and a while back I renamed my blog “Stuff My Father Says”. There has obviously been a lot of my opinions in the things I’ve written about, but ultimately those thoughts of mine are rooted and grounded in the Word of God. Often when I write, it’s because of a desire to help others learn the things I have. A few times it’s just because I want to see if I can get a rise out of people. I’ve been somewhat successful on both counts. Today is one of those days I want to see if I can get a rise out of you, while helping at the same time.

This time in history is a weird one to be sure. Never in my fifty-six years have I ever seen anything like it. I find myself at this time in my life experiencing what the writer David said in Psalm 37:25, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” In this time of pandemic craziness, (who knew toilet paper hoarding would ever be a thing?) I can honestly say my bride and I have seen the blessings of God to such a degree it almost seems as if nothing has changed in our lives.

To God be the glory and praise for this, it’s not because Cheryl and I are such financial wizards, actually quite the opposite is true. But thanks to God and His Word of truth in the area of finances and giving. I can honestly say our giving has gone up during this time and not down. Actually last night at drive in church, we were in a race to see who could give towards the Dream Center faster. She won, but ultimately we both did.

When you talk about tithing and giving, it can become a polarizing topic for many. Fewer things can get people worked up faster than talking about asking them to give their hard earned cash to the church. Yet, it is a command of God, and actually the only way for you to enter into His financial plan for your life. Like it or not, it’s the truth. You can believe it or not, the choice is yours, and God will not love you any less if you never give a penny in the offering plate. But I honestly believe (because I’ve lived it) if you give with a willing heart, God will bless you more than you could ever know.

Many people will tell you that tithing is a rule from the law of Moses and with the sacrifice of Jesus we have been redeemed from the law. However this is a thought which is in error in my honest opinion, because tithing was from the very beginning and way before Moses ever received the law from God. Before we get into that however, let’s get on the same page about what tithing actually is and means.

My good friend Pastor David Emigh taught the tithe is three things; it’s 10%, it’s the first fruits and it’s holy. 10% is easy, if you have $100, you give $10. It is ten percent of all the money you get. It’s the first fruits, which simply meant, it is the first thing you give. I don’t pay my bills or put gas into my tank until I’ve given my tithes to my local church. And today, with online giving, and texting to give, it’s never been easier. On the morning my paycheck is deposited into my bank account, I get online and take care of all my tithing and giving before I do anything else. It is also holy, which just means it is not for secular use. Like I use to tell the kids when I taught children’s church, the tithe is not for buying candy bars and sodas, it belongs to God.

Now that we talked about what the tithe is, let’s look at some places in the Bible where tithing are talked about but not in the law. First let’s go to Genesis 2:16-17 “But the Lord God warned Adam, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was a type of the tithe.

But wait, there’s more, look at Genesis 14:18-20 “And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.”

Great Dave, but those are Old Testament passages, did Jesus say anything about tithing? Well I’m glad you asked, look at Luke 11:42, “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.” Also this is found in Matthew 23:23, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.”

But if God doesn’t need my money, then why do I need to tithe and give? Two reasons; first, it is a command and we are told to do this, and second, because it is the way God chooses to bless His children. It also is a barometer for your heart, in other words it will reveal where your heart is with God. Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Ultimately I cannot nor would I tell you what you need to do with your life. I can encourage you with the things my Father says, but ultimately you have to decide for yourself. But one thing I can say, as a Christian for over 30 years now, I have seen God come through for Cheryl and me on so many different things where it concerns our giving and financial life, you will never be able to tell me God doesn’t want us to get into His financial plan by giving. We’ve tried out giving God, but He constantly is blessing us more than we can ever hope or think.

One last thought, in the book of Malachi, God says, “Test me in this (the tithe) and see if I will not open the windows of Heaven and pour you our a blessing you will not be able to contain.” Malachi 3:10. What do you have to lose? He is basically placing a stick on His shoulder and saying, “I dare you to knock it off.” Give it a shot, I can honestly say if you give your tithe to the local church you are attending, then God will open the windows and pour you out a blessing just like He said he would. Go ahead, try it, you’ll be glad you did!

For the Kingdom and the King, Shalom!

Stuff My Father Says About Healing

Let’s talk before we get into this topic today. First off, this subject is a touchy one. In the past, it has cost me friendships, made many people angry and made me reevaluate what I truly believe. Yet through all of it, I still believe what God’s Word says about healing, and I always will.

I will say right at the gitgo here, if you disagree with me, it is perfectly fine. The only thing I would ask of you, is to keep an open mind and search out these truths in the Bible for yourself. Don’t just believe something because dear Aunt Polly or your daddy said it. Study and search for yourself. And not only this, ask God to show you, His Holy Spirit is the Great Teacher standing by ready, willing and able to help you to understand everything.

I’m not a science guy, I don’t understand what makes us sick or allows diseases to run rampant in some parts of the world more than others. What I do know is faith, and if God said something in the Bible, then it is true. It may not be operating fully in my life to the degree I want it to at the moment, but it is true regardless. The law of electricity is still true, regardless of whether or not I believe it. If I grab a bare wire which is connected to a power source, even if I don’t believe it will hurt me, it will. The same is true with the things in God’s Kingdom as well. What you do and do not know will have an impact on your life.

Before we hop into the healing Scriptures, I’d be remiss if I didn’t first off talk about how we receive things in God’s Kingdom. The Scriptures are pretty cut and dry about this, let’s look at Mark 11:23-24; “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea’, and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Yeah, but Dave you don’t know my situation! Hey, save your buts for the Lord. This is Jesus talking in this passage of Scripture. It’s pretty cut and dry. Whatever you believe and say will be yours. This is how you get everything in the Kingdom of God; you believe it and say it, then it shows up. It doesn’t matter who you are either, if you believe something in your heart and say it with your mouth and do not doubt, but believe you will receive, you will eventually get the thing you are talking about.

So let’s look at what the Bible says about healing. Is it for you, or was it just for people in the Bible? Proverbs 4:20-22 says, “My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them, let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.” Cool! God’s Word brings healing to your whole body! The Amplified versions says it this way, “My son, pay attention to my words and be willing to learn; open your ears to my sayings. Do not let them escape from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing and health to all their flesh.”

Notice the phrases, “healing to your whole body” and “health to all their flesh“. The words “whole” and “all” pretty much cover whatever ails you. Something which jumps out at me in this Scripture is where it says “for they bring life to those who find them“. I don’t know about you, but this pretty much says to me those who are walking in healing are the ones who are paying close attention to God’s Word and actually looking for them. They’ve opened their ears to the Scriptures and kept them in front of their eyes, regardless of what their five senses are trying to tell them.

This then begs the question, am I actually looking for God’s Word concerning healing? Now here’s what I think, a lot of Christians are running to the doctor in search of the easy fix; you know, a pill or shot to take to fix what ails me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the guy who will tell you to throw away your medicine and just believe God. We have to use a little bit of common sense too. But I will be the guy to ask you if you are running to the doctor first and seeking God second?

I’m afraid in this scientific age we live in, Christians have gotten away from actually believing in God’s ability to heal us, thinking this was needed back in the day before all the medical stuff we’ve figured out in the past 100 years. A prevalent thought is God gave us science, and they in turn have given us a plethora of medicines which tout the ability to fix all of our problems. Have you ever looked into all the side effects of the pills we have nowadays? I mean, sometimes I’d rather have the sickness than deal with all the side effects.

Let’s look at some healing Scriptures or God’s medicine:

Psalm 107:20 “He sent His Word, and healed them.”

Psalm 30:2 “O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.”

Psalm 103:3 “He who forgives all your iniquities, and heals all your diseases.”

1 Peter 2:24 “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.”

Look at that last passage, especially the two words “have been“, this is in the past tense meaning it has already happened. When Jesus was beaten with the whip before He was nailed to the cross, each of the lashes He received purchased your healing. This means healing is yours, you just have to reach out and take it. And as we learned earlier, if we believe it in our heart, say it with our mouth and don’t doubt, then we will have what we say.

If you are not believing God for your healing, then my question must be, why? I don’t know exactly how many Scriptures there are concerning healing, but I know if there were just one it would be enough. I did come across this website which has 102 such verses. Click here to read them. What I know is as you read the Word of God, faith comes. And when faith comes, you believe. Couple that with your speaking what you believe and not doubting, and you will see the miracle of healing operate in your life.

I know it sounds almost too easy to be real, but if there is one thing I’ve learned about my Father in these past 30+ years of following Him, it’s He doesn’t make anything too difficult to do. Jesus wants the best for you, and one of these things is for you to be in health and whole. And besides, what do you have to lose by believing God? Nothing really. As Nike has said for years, “Just Do It!”

For the Kingdom and the King, shalom!

It’s Up To You

One of the greatest misunderstandings in the Christian community I believe is learning what God says for yourself. The world we live in today has countless resources from which to choose how you hear the Word of God. Whether it’s podcasts, video series, books, blogs or even attending a weekly church service, no one can say the information is not out there.

Yet for all the information we have at the tips of our fingers, there are more people ignorant of what God has for them than I believe ever has been. Have you ever gotten one of those “forward this” things in order to get God’s blessings? Or been coerced into giving to something because of the smoothness of a speaker’s convincing words? How can you tell what’s real and what’s not?

It takes a firm understanding of what God’s Word says. But not just what it says, but knowing for yourself what God is saying through those words. In the banking world, when they teach tellers how to spot counterfeit bills, they don’t show them any counterfeit money at all. Instead, they show them real bills and what to look for. Knowing the genuine and authentic bills means you will know a fake when you see one.

It’s the same thing with God’s Word. You have to learn the real unadulterated Word of God for yourself, so that when the counterfeits show up you will recognize them.

Ultimately this falls on you and me personally. I mean if someone is teaching the Word of God incorrectly, you need to be able to determine this for yourself. The great news is, we have the Holy Spirit inside of us and He will lead, guide and direct our steps, but we have to give Him something to work with. If you aren’t reading the Bible, (looking at the real thing) what does He have to work with.

In the next series of blogs, I’m going to talk about what God’s Word says. And don’t just believe me because I say I’m right, check out what I’m saying against the Word of God and the Holy Spirit on the inside of you, and see if He won’t take your someplace you’ve never been before.

For the Kingdom and the King! Shalom!

What Does It Mean To Be A Man? Part 1

“Be a man!” “You’re the man!” “Fight like a man!” What does it really mean to be a man? I’ve heard it said, and said it myself before, you may be male by birth, but you’re a man by choice. For too many years there has been this unspoken thing about what it means to become a man that the world has foisted upon us. When you have your first alcoholic drink, you’ll be a man, once you start shaving, you’ll be a man, when you bed your first woman, you’ll be a man. But honestly nothing could be further from the truth.

Being a man is a choice you make each and every day of your life, sometimes hour by hour. But before you can make that choice, you have to know what it really means to be a man, and what the job description entails. This is something which has been lost and not passed on to boys from their fathers in many, many years. For whatever reason, fathers have failed to teach their sons how to be men, and when movies and television came along, boys were shown what the world said it mean to be men so naturally because of the vacuum left by their fathers, they began to follow this instead.

Men were created first by God, and Adam, the first man was placed in the Garden of Eden and given a job; to cultivate it and name all the animals. It was while he was in the process of naming the animals he noticed every one of them had a counterpart, but for him there wasn’t one to be found. God put him to sleep, took a rib and made Adam a helper in the form of the woman Eve. When he woke up, he had a wife and a new job; to be a lover, leader and provider. He was to love his bride, lead her and provide for her. And this is what it really means to be a man. If you are going to be a real man, then you’re going to have to work these three things into your life as well. To not do them, is to not be a real man, plain and simple.

One of the most exasperating things I see, are guys who treat this role in their lives with disdain and selfishness. They live by the mantra of I’m going to get mine and the heck with the rest of you! Selfishness is the enemy of manhood. In the next few blogs I’m going to talk to you about what it really means to be a man, and I hope if you see yourself lacking in any way that you will make the corrections necessary.

It’s time men stood up and took their God given roles back, be the men the world needs and stop being like Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up but lived only for himself.

 

 

Seven Years

Seven years or 84 months or 364 weeks or 2,555 days or 61,320 hours or 3,679,200 minutes or 220,752,000 seconds.  However you want to track the passage of time, this is how long it has been since my youngest son Noah was lost to me due to suicide. I’ve written about this before; usually at this time of year when I am forced to relive the events which happened on that day. But this year I want to write something a little different.

It was back in the first part of March I was thinking about Noah and I began to ask myself what day he died on. It took me quite a while to remember, actually having to go back through my Facebook account looking for posts from when it first happened. After figuring it out, I felt like quite a failure as a parent. After all, how could a good parent forget the actual day they lost one of their children? It wasn’t until a few days ago when my bride said something to the fact about today being the seventh anniversary and it had crept up on her, I began to think perhaps we had both turned a corner.

When I say turned a corner, I don’t mean either of us has forgotten the day or Noah, but that we have just traveled farther down the road of life. And the more distance you put between yourself and the horrible things which have happened, the easier it becomes for them to take up less space in your every day thoughts. The passage of time is a good thing.

Something I’ve learned in the past seven years is there are no guarantees in life; things have a way of just happening to people; both good and bad. We try to rationalize it when something horrible happens, but there is no making sense of it. We live in a fallen world, in which bad things happen. Another thing I’ve learned is God never changes; He is the same yesterday, today and forever. I know it sounds trite, but regardless, it is the truth. And when crap hits the fan, you have to hold on to what is true if you ever want to have hope of making it further down the road of life.

For me, today marks another year off the calendar and a few more miles along the path I’ve been forced to walk these past seven years. Would I rather not be on this particular journey? Absolutely. I’d love to have my 20 year old son here with me and my family enjoying the life he should be living, but instead I’m living another reality; the one where he is no longer here with me. It’s not my choice, but I will journey on regardless.

The passage of time is a good thing, believe me when I say it. Though it may not look like it when you are in the middle of whatever you are going through, I promise it will get easier the further away from whatever is challenging you. Just do what my family and I have done for the past seven years; breathe, take a step and repeat. Just keep moving forward.

 Yes, There Are Giants Among Us

“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”  ~ Benjamin Franklin

“Don’t let tomorrow arrive without saying the things which need to be said today.”    ~ David W. Felts

Life truly is a fleeting vapor and passes way more quickly than we ever want to admit. Add to this passage of time the death of a close friend and your world will begin to spin even faster than you can imagine. I got a call from my bride while I was at work, which is not unusual so I answered my phone figuring it was to ask me if I’d be working late, or to tell me she was going to visit a friend or something. I had no idea her call would alter the course of my day in such a drastic way. Saying hello, in a shaky voice she informed me of the death of my best friend, Terry Scott.

Where do I even begin? Terry and I have been friends for many years now, more than friends actually, we are brothers. We share a love of coffee, online comics, TV shows and movies. He was my go to guy when life was stressing me out or when I just needed to hear a friendly voice. He was the kind of guy who always knew what to say when you needed to hear it the most. I’ve said it often, but it bears repeating; when I needed to vent frustrations, he would sit there patiently sipping his coffee letting me say the most ridiculous things, hoping I would come to the conclusion of how to handle my situation. But if I didn’t, he would say, “What are you going to do about it?” With a dumb look on my face I’m sure, he would then counsel me on the best course of action. And I would do the same for him, those times having coffee were some of the best times for both of us.

As I’ve spent the past days contemplating the loss of my friend and the impact he had on this planet, what I have lost is just now dawning on me. The title of my post is “Yes, There Are Giants Among Us” and this man was truly a giant among men. His heart for people inspires me to be more like him. To love like Terry is now something I want to strive to emulate even more, not because I want to be great, but because there will be a void in my life and that of countless others which needs to be filled, and if not me, then who? 

The things Terry accomplished in his short time on the planet are amazing. I read a post from his wife this morning which said “Terry Scott” was trending on the internet and this is awesome, not just because he would’ve loved it, but because more people are now seeing the impact his life made and perhaps they will work to be more like him too. He was always about getting more people in God’s kingdom and doing what they were called by God to do.

I miss my friend deeply, he can never be replaced and the void in my life will be felt immensely for the remaining years I’m alive. But my hope rests in Christ and the knowledge I will see him again one day. There is a scene at the end of the movie Gladiator which sums up what I’m saying. Gladiator clip. I will see Terry again and we will sit drinking coffee having many long conversations for all eternity. Mabookies for eternity.

 

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul

This topic has bothered me for years; the notion of God blessing one person by taking from another. And before you say anything, I realize there is a passage of Scripture which says the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just, and I believe it is true. What has always gotten to me though is how people work the system, or beg a believer to help them out instead of trusting God to provide for their own needs.

I was perusing social media last night and came across a post about purchasing some clothes and using a coupon. Now I didn’t see the coupon and don’t know if it was a limit 1 or not, so I could be off base, but as I read the post and saw several registers were visited in order to use one of the coupons at each and receive the discount multiple times I couldn’t help but think it sounded dishonest. If it was, is your integrity worth $30 in savings?

I owned a retail shoe store for many years so I have a unique perspective when it comes to giving and getting discounts. I was asked so many times for one I have maybe a jaded attitude when it comes to people trying to save money on a purchase by getting me to give them a deal.

I remember once giving a $50 coupon to a young lady for purchasing a pair of shoes. The family arrived to use the coupon and the young lady found a pair she loved. With the coupon they were going to cost her about $10; a great deal. Her father stayed outside in front of the store the entire time and when she went to get money from him, he handed her a $5 off any $50 purchase coupon he had found in a phone book and told her to ask me if I would honor it.

I took the high road and gave them the discount because I felt horrible for this girl being forced by her dad to ask for more of a discount. He didn’t even have the balls to ask me himself, instead making her humiliate herself. The look of shame on her face was horrible and I felt so bad for her. I’ve got more to say about this, but I won’t.

It’s not that I don’t like getting a discount, I do. But when people would ask me for one; especially Christian brothers and sisters I would say, “Why don’t you believe God for the full price of the shoes and when He blesses you with the money, then you can buy the shoes from me at full price. He blesses you, you bless me and everyone is happy and God gets the praise. But when I mentioned this, they would look at me like a cow looks at a new gate.

Don’t get me wrong, getting discounts are great, I like them too. But how are you going about getting them? Are you working the system, in order to save a few bucks, then praising God for helping you save money? I’m pretty sure God doesn’t take from one person or business in order to save you money.