Deuteronomy 14:22, 28-29, 15:4-6, 10-11 NIV
22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.
28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
4 However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, 5 if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. 6 For the LORD your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.
10 Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.
Thought for the Day
We miss this as believers. Can you imagine if every believer gave 10% or more in tithes and offerings to God? Can you imagine the events that would start to take place in our world? Every one who wanted a Bible would have one. The poor would be cared for, missions would explode, as a result the rapture might happen more quickly. God has said, when all have heard...... then is the time.
My family has witness this first hand. We were in TIGHT financial shape the last couple of years. But, we never stopped giving 10% to the Lord. There were sometime we did not have the money, but GOD ALWAYS PROVIDED. Every month we had enough, plus a little extra. Today, after a couple of years have passed, God is Blessing our business and personal lives beyond our imagination. Something strange has taken place in my heart, now I work for Christ. Money for me, doesn't matter, what matters now is how much can I give Him this month?
For awhile, giving to God was boring. I would just drop the money into the offering plate and that was it..... you saw the monthly church statement. Do not get me wrong, you need to support the church you attend, but giving can be EXCITING. Here are some of the ways that we have gotten the entire family involved. We support a missionary, we send e-mails and hear about their progress. We also support children in Africa through World Vision. We bring Bibles into our house, and mail them out to countries where it is illegal to be found with a Bible. It is kind of our "James Bond" Bible adventure. You never know, our finger prints could be traced back to us. :)
There is one other point that I wanted to make, in the passage above, God points out several times that if we tithe' as He commands, "God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to". I leave you with the lyrics from one of my favorite Christian Artists; Todd Agnew. When you read the words, does in make you feel a little uncomfortable?
MERCY IN ME
By Todd Agnew Album:
REFLECTION OF SOMETHING
A poor man on the corner I could give to You by buying him lunch
But I rarely think about it ‘Cause I got a little but it’s not that much
And I pray Lord won’t You help me
Give me a little bit more for myself
And You say Child won’t you let me
Take all that you got and give you a little real wealth
CHORUS
And I don’t know what You want, what You see in my life
And I don’t know what You mean, how You could be glorified
I’m not too sure about this idea of sacrifice
What You mean by mercy, mercy in me
Your mercy in me
A young girl in an old house
Three kids and another on the way
She’s in desperate need of some new clothes
But I keep my old ones and tell her I’ll pray for her
But Your heart breaks for those kids
And that child of a mom who’s one of Your own
When a few gifts and a little time
Is another crown I could lay at the feet of Your throne
Closing Prayer
My Heavenly Father,
It is hard to give you control of my money. Money here on earth is security, earthly security. I know that my true security was made when You died for my sins. Jesus please help me and give me the strength to allow you to control my money, Please open my eyes to those around me that need help. I love you Jesus!
In Your Name I pray, Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment