If you're like me, at one point in your life, you just felt... funny... about how churches asked you to tithe.
I'm here to set it straight: tithing isn't just about giving to the church, it's about giving directly to God. When I was a kid, I envisioned tithing as all of the money the church received that was then put into a basket and lifted up to heaven to give to God...Not exactly, but it's, as you know, our way of providing the church with the resources they need to do the Lord's work. Malachi 3:10 states that tithing is the ONE area in your life where you can test God's ability. You don't test God by saying, "God if you're real, let a basket of popcorn shrimp appear in front of me right NOW!" Instead, He says that if you return to him just TEN PERCENT (Deuteronomy 14:22) of your earnings, He'll return it back to you - and then some. But if you really wanna see God work, you can tithe a little (or a lot) more than ten percent to see how true God is to His word. Just last week, God placed on my spirit to tithe an additional ten percent of my earnings from the week before. I was like "God... I need that money!" But I did it anyway. A few days later, a security deposit I didn't think I was getting back came in the mail. After splitting it with my roommates, I'd gotten more than $500. Won't He do it!! Another time over the summer, I did an "extra tithe" because I was still interning trying to find my first "big girl job." I worked some extra hours at my internship and was then paid nearly SIX times what my average paycheck would have been! When God - Who owns all of the cattle on the hill, all of the pennies in the world, every piece of all of the riches on the planet - is tested on what He can give you, He COMES THROUGH. Today, I challenge you to put God to the test with your finances. If you're stuck between a rock and a hard place or even if you think you got it - try it out for a few weeks and watch God work. Eventually, you'll get used to tithing as if it's nothing. Prayer: Lord God, thank you for owning every single thing in this world. Thank you for reassuring me that if I put my faith in You instead of in my bank account, I will be greatly rewarded. This week/month/year, I promise to be faithful to You and not be caught up in my circumstances. You said this is the one area I can test you in, so I'm going to do it. Please return to me these tithes according to what You have for me, Your child. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. - L
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Covenant BlogArchives
|