Day 4
Giving
$3,600.00. That’s how much money I made my first year of
practicing law. Claudia was home with an
infant, so that was our family income. We
tithed. We couldn’t afford to tithe, but
we believed that we couldn’t afford not to.
From a human perspective, it made no sense, and we could easily have
rationalized keeping the money. We
needed it (or thought we did). Tithing
was a step in faith, a surrender of what we could see (our limited income) for
what we couldn’t (God’s faithfulness) God was faithful, and continues to
be faithful, through good financial times and through tough ones. He is Almighty God, always faithful, always
caring, always providing, always with your best interests at heart. He is worthy of your trust and your
surrender. When I think of giving, I
automatically think of tithing. To me,
the two concepts are inseparable. I have
yet to meet a person who tithed, and who later told me it was a bad idea. I have yet to meet a person who tithed, and
who later told me God hadn’t been faithful.
Instead, every tither I talk with would never consider not tithing. Every tither has stories of God’s
faithfulness, God’s provision, God’s love exhibited as a result of the tither’s
surrender and obedience. Either there
are a lot of people making up phony stories about God’s provision, or God’s
reward for obedience is real.
People’s stories of the wonderful results
of tithing can be inspiring and motivational, but here’s something really
inspiring and motivational:
38 Give, and it
will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running
over, will be poured into your lap. For with the
measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Luke 6:38
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will
also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided
in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all
things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2
Corinthians 9:6-8
8 “Will
a mere mortal rob God?
Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How
are we robbing you?’“In tithes and offerings. 9 You
are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me.10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me
in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open
the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store
it. Malachi 3:8-10
33 But seek
first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
Either these verses are true, or they are
not.
If they are not true, then keep your
money.
How has this devotional challenged your
thinking on giving?
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How is giving an issue of loving the Lord
with all your soul? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Prayer: Reflecting specifically on this
devotional, write out a prayer to God.
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