~Daily Devotion 3rd~

The devotion for today is on tithing. For some reason people have a hard time with this part of their Christian walk, but if they only understood the importance in tithing. I even have known husbands and wives who disagree, because of the way they were raised in the sense of giving to the church.

I know, for instance, that my husband, Joe, was raised Methodist. The Methodists will open their billfolds readily in big amounts if the church needs something. They are good at making pledges, and they usually stick to them. Joe's daddy was a real giver to the church, if the church needed funds.

Now, I was raised Baptist, and my daddy believed and made sure that the tithes was the first thing that came out of his paycheck. And if the church needed extra, he was willing to always do his part. I know of more than one church that Daddy bought a pew or a window for. Now if you are Baptist, don't laugh, you know this is true, because you are probably sitting in the pew and looking out the window that you or your great, great granddaddy bought.

And I want to say that neither of the ways above is bad, as long as you are supporting your church. But, just remember what the Scriptures say about tithing, and do it. See, Joe's dad gave freely of his tithes and offerings to the church, and my daddy did the same. And they both were very prosperous. See, the word there was they freely and glad-heartily gave. They gave not with a grudging spirit. They gave with love to God.

I feel that each of us needs to stop telling God that His word is not true. Just read your Bible, and you will see how important it is to tithe. Or you can continue to live as the verse below says, "Haggai 1:6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."

Huh? I do not know about you, but I would rather live a prosperous life, than live a life that I constantly was in fear of not being able to pay my bills.

Listen, God's church has to be able to pay it's bills. The Pastor needs to be paid. Now let me talk about that, yes, we are always quick to pick up the phone and expect the Pastor to be on the other end at our beckoning call, but are you paying your tithes so maybe the Pastor can get that much needed raise. HUH? Do you realize how much time a Pastor gives to each member of their church? Do you realize how much a Pastor may sacrifice to make sure the church is doing God's work? If we would take the time to walk in the Pastor's shoes, we may be more willing to do our part.

You can ask any Bible-believing Christian if they think that the Bible is the inspired, infallible word of God and they will immediately say yes, of course. But then they call God a liar, because they do not believe in what it says. How do I know this? Because they are not exercising in what the word says. How do I know this? Because too many people are living a non-prosperous life.

(Malachi 3:8-11) says, "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, in what way have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse. For you have robbed Me. Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. And try Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts. And see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you such a blessing, that there will not be room enough to receive it."

This scripture shows us that God's abundant blessings are a promise to those who tithe. And I can tell you that God does not hold back in this area.

God tells the people in this scripture that they are under a curse because they have neglected their responsibility by not giving their tithes and offerings. God even says that they were stealing from Him. Giving is an area of the Christian life that God takes seriously and, consequently, He rewards our obedience.

When you listen to God and give your tithes, the promises of the above scripture is yours. Tithing is an important part of the Christian life that God tells us we can actually test Him on His reciprocal promises. In this verse, we read "And try Me now on this"

God is gracious and gives more promises for our tithes. He also says in this verse "that He will rebuke the devourer for our sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground; nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field." This promise covers a number of areas in our lives. God says, "He will protect us from the devourer, Satan. He will protect us from the pestilence of this world and provide a covering of protection over us and our families.

(2 Corinthians 9:6) which says, "This promises are based on a spiritual principle found in "He who sows sparingly, will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully, will also reap bountifully."

This verse tells us we are rewarded according to what we have give. If we give generously, we will be given back to generously.

You cannot give to God without receiving back from Him. Jesus tells us in (Luke 9:6) "Give and it shall be given to you, pressed down, shaken together and running over, shall men give unto your bosom."

We have a God who exercises extravagant giving. Take, for example, the gift of His Jesus Christ our Lord, God's son. Jesus gave His life in obedience so we might live. Giving is imbedded deep in the character of God. He is our great example of what we are to model and reflect on the earth. God not only wants us to give, but to give liberally. Giving shows the love of God in our actions as it displays the gospel to the world. We serve a mighty God who is waiting in heaven to bestow upon us the blessings He has stored up for us!