2010 – Day 40. Feb. 9 – Nothing But the Finest for God

Study from Numbers 16 – 18; Passage for Reflection: Numbers 18: 29 … NIV [God’s instructions to the Levites through Moses] You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.

My Journal for Today: Tithing. It seems so legalist, … so arbitrary, … doesn’t it? It almost seems like God is modeling selfishness by wanting the first and the best as He commands us to give to Him. And then, He not only asks His children to give the best of their best to His Priesthood, He turns around and asks the Levites, His Priesthood, to give the very best from the Tithe as their tithe to God.

And if you’ve read along with me today, in Numbers 16, there is the story of how God handled those who rebelled and decided that God’s Priesthood had gone too far in their demands (which, of course, were only the commands of God passed along to His chosen people from Moses). Today, there are many Christians who have trouble with the concept of the “TITHE;” and I’m not going to get into that Old Covenant verses New Covenant theological debate here. But no matter who you are as a believer in Christ, there is no doubt that God has a lot to say in His word to His kids about stewardship, giving, and how we prioritize the handling of God’s providence.

You probably know – or I hope you do – what God’s word highlights about tithing, giving, and being a steward of His talents, time, or treasures. And if you cannot glean from God’s truth that He demands the first and the best from what He’s given to us as a marker of our devotion to Him, I think you need to do some serious study on this. Because when I read passages like those linked here ... Malachi 3: 7 – 10 … or Proverbs 3: 9 – 10 … or 2nd Cor. 9: 6 -7 … or [Jesus Himself teaching about stewardship] in Matt. 25: 14-30 and Matt. 6: 19 – 24, it seems so very obvious to me that what we do with what God has given us is how God measures our devotion to Him as our Lord.

So, a long time ago, my wife and I decided to quit debating about whether the “tithe” was an Old Testament or New Testament command on our lives. We decided to prioritize what God had given us, i.e., time, talents, and/or treasures; and without questioning or grumbling, to gratefully and joyfully give the first and the best portion of His providence back to Him. Now, I can almost feel the wheels turning in the minds of those who are reading here, some of you asking, “Well, Bill (and Elly), how do you do that … this business of tithing and giving of our time, talents, and treasures?” And I agree that this is a very important question which we all need to answer from God’s teaching and leading. My wife and I have studied on this, prayed about it, and we’ve decided how we go about giving back to God His first and His best from His providence. And I’m not about to try to legalistically say here’s THE ANSWER, the “Berry Patch” answer, to that challenging question for you.

No, you’re going to have to answer that one for yourself; but I will say that those verses I’ve prioritized above [see those linked, emboldened and underlined] would be a good place to start if you’re trying to answer this very important question related to Godly Stewardship. But … please [!!!] don’t put it off; because putting off how you give back to God will delay just how much God can or will pour Himself into your lives; and you don’t want to be delaying the dispersal of God’s grace in your life either because you’re ignorant of God’s plan for giving or because you’re simply not willing to cooperate with His plan.

So let’s all answer the question my devotional shepherd, F. LaGard Smith, challenges us with today. He writes, Of all that I give to God today, will it truly be the best and the holiest?”

My Prayer for Today: Lord, I pray that my life is truly a living sacrifice; and I pray that I’m always giving back without hesitation the first and the best You have given to me. Amen

2010 – Day 32. Feb. 1 – Excessive Generosity

February 1, 2010 … Reading through the Bible in a Year

Blogger’s Note: This year of 2010, I continue in my commitment to read through the Bible in a year, using The Daily Bible by Harvest House Publishers, edited with commentary by F. Legard Smith, along with a companion book, The Daily Bible Commentary, by the same author, from which I’ll be drawing the organization and direction for my journaling.

Recently I had shoulder surgery [left rotator cuff repair] and until today, from that time on January 25th until today, my wife has been typing my handwritten journal notes; and I’m so thankful that she would do so. However, today, I’m typing my journal entry myself again with some care not to extend my shoulder beyond what it should take in doing this. But so far … so good; and I’m thankful to God that in this intervening week He’s shown me that I need not use the excuse of surgery and shoulder pain to back off from having the discipline of my quiet time and journaling my time in God’s word here in this place. And though I’ve been somewhat curtailed from my normal exercise regimen, I also have been able to be accountable here for my 40 Days of Commitment to body stewardship as well. Therefore, entering these data and my thoughts with my own typing, I’m here today to share with those who might read this.

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Study from Exodus 35 - 38; Passage for Reflection: Exodus 36: 4 – 5 … NIV 4 So all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work 5 and said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done."

My Journal for Today: What a delicious dilemma for the leaders of God’s people to be in. God gives a vision for the Tabernacle to be built to Moses and the Priests who had been carrying on the Tent of Meetings outside the gates of the city; and the Lord was very specific – in fact, ultra exacting – with
His instructions; and then Moses passed along the charge of giving to the people, speaking God’s instructions, which (from Exod. 35: 4-5) were these words, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 5 From what you have, take an offering for the LORD. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering of gold, silver and bronze; … [and other materials needed for the Tabernacle construction].”
Have you ever been in a church when a special offering was taken which seemed to be logical based upon the terrible needs of desperate people … like what is happening now in Haiti, following the devastation of the horrible earthquakes there? Or don’t we all remember our hearts being drawn to give following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina or the after the Christmas Eve horror from the Tsunami which ravished the far east? But how about your heart when the Pastor of your Church or the Chairman of your Elder Board came to you, with a vision for a new building project which they reported was a consensus from their hearts as leaders as something God was leading them to do as a project which would extend God’s kingdom and give our Lord great glory? Were you as drawn to give, over an above your tithe and regular offerings, to such a project as you were to relieve the suffering in Haiti, New Orleans, or the far east?

But that’s where the Israelites were when Moses came to them, asking for God to be honored with a church building project. And what a project it was to be! To bring God Himself into the city; and to have a worship place which would glorify His Holy Name. It was to be THE TABERNACLE … the place where all who believed on God’s Name could worship Him with His presence there to reciprocate the worship of His Name. And notice that God didn’t order the people to give. He simply commanded those to give who would be led to give in faith (see Exod. 35: 4-5 above again); and wow, did they give?! As our target passage today indicates, the people gave so much that Moses had to put the brakes on their giving.

It is said that fewer than 5% of so-called Evangelical Christians tithe to their local church, let alone give above the tithe for any project or special call for an offering. Oh, they may give when disaster photos are shown of people dying in Haiti; but when the leaders of the church call for a building project, very few – percentage wise – give to such vision projects. The stats in the church where I’m an Elder are probably like they are in your church with as many as 25% of regular attendees not giving anything to the church – for anything, apparently not understanding God’s word on giving (see Malachi 3: 8-10, Prov. 3: 9-10, or 2nd Cor. 9: 6-7), or just feeling that that the church isn’t a high priority in their financial value system.

But what would happen if the people who call themselves “CHRISTIAN” would give as they did in Exodus, Chapters 35-38? ... Well, the church could take care of the welfare needs of the entire nation, let alone the needs of the church. There would be no more hunger on earth if God’s people gave God’s way. Hospitals would be built which could take ANYONE, at ANYTIME, for ANY NEED. And God’s churches, the places where He is worshipped, would be the most beautiful structures on earth. So, when that plate comes by you this Sunday, ask God if you’re giving the way HE would have you give … with a generous Spirit which reflects His Spirit which dwells in His temple – which, of course, is your body and His church. May we all give as God’s people gave in this segment of His book I have reviewed today.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, may my pocket book reflect a joyful and giving heart, knowing that the way I give to/for Your kingdom reflects how I honor You every day of my life. Amen

2009 – Day 273.Oct 1 – Found Faithful

Blogger’s Note: Beginning a new month; but Chuck Swindoll still has a few more days in the Book of Job for his readers; and then we’ll be on to the New Testament and the life of the Apostle Paul. So, stay with me for just a few more days with Job.

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Passage of the Day: Job 42 … Linked for study …

My Journal for Today: Have you ever come into contact with someone who is extremely wealthy? What was your immediate thought, even though you may not have any inside information about this person? Unfortunately, our default, human nature has a tendency to be envious of such a person; and we often think that such a person must have gotten their wealth from selfishness and greed.

But if we’ve read and studied God’s word, we know that some of God’s favored Saints were blessed by God with wealth. And as we’ve been studying Job, we certainly see one such person. Job was mega-wealthy before his series of horrible losses; and here in Chapter 42 he was restored to double what he was blessed after God restored him two-fold what he had had before. And there were other very blessed and favored Saints in the Bible; and I’d almost wager you’re thinking of the likes of Abraham or maybe Solomon … or even Jesus’ friend, Lazarus, in the New Testament. All of these men were blessed by God with much temporal wealth; and they did nothing underhanded to be so blessed. Neither were they greedy or took advantage of others to have what they were given by God.

Swindoll’s point this morning is that we should not compare our life with others and judge someone negatively just because they seem to have more than we do. Envy is one of those very natural, but very sinful, reactions when we see someone with a lot more than we have; and we can tend to question God’s intent in allowing someone to have so much, especially when we think we’ve done all we can to be a good Christian and honor God with our time, talents, and treasures and we don’t seem to be as blessed as others we see with a lot of temporal blessings.

And so, today, I echo Swindoll’s devotional intent with my own conviction and confession here that I have a tendency to judge others and think of them as being naturally greedy when I see them blessed by a lot of obvious “stuff,” even when I know not how they procured such temporal wealth. Because, if I were privileged to know more about them, I might find out that God had actually allowed such wealth into their lives to test them and to break them of the attitude of greed. Jesus showed us, in the Sermon on the Mount or with the story of the rich young ruler, that being rich can be a curse if we hold on to the desire to have a lot of things in life. And one we see in life with a lot of wealth may need to learn that truth.

And then, if we knew more about the wealthy person, as we’ve been able to see into the life of Job, we may find out that they have been blessed by God with much because they have been found faithful. And if you know anything about the various Spiritual gifts we are given when we come to Christ, we learn that the Spirit-given gift of giving also comes along with the gift of getting. So, judge not, my friend, when you see someone who’s mega-wealthy. That person just may be giving 80-90% of his wealth to God’s kingdom and God is blessing him because he can effectively give so much to God’s glory.

Yes, my friend, having a lot requires that we give a lot; and wealth can be stumbling block to becoming like Christ. However, we shouldn’t judge one on the surface negatively just because God has given one person a lot when we don’t appear to be so blessed. Perhaps that person’s wealth is being used by God, like it was for Job, to duly favor that one; and it actually is is part of God’s plan for His own glory. Wait, my friend; and let’s see the fruit on the tree of the wealthy man’s life before we pass judgment.

Better yet, leave the judging to God. He’s better at that anyway. ;>)

My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to wait when I see You favor others with temporal gain. And thanks for all you’ve given this humble servant, … a very rich man. Others may not see me as rich; but You know, as do I, that I am. I have all I need and more, … much more. Am

2009 - Day 18 - Giving For His Glory

January 18, 2009 … Swindoll’s Topic for Today: Giving For His Glory

Passage of the Day: Genesis 41: 53 - 57 ... 53 Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, 54 and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do.” 56 The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. 57 So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.

My Journal for Today: Let me begin today’s journal entry, quoting from what Chuck Swindoll wrote at the end of his devotional for today: “With authority comes the need for accountability. With popularity comes the need for humility. With prosperity comes the need for integrity. … Joseph passed all three (of these) character tests with flying colors.”

After reading the passage for today, no one could logically, or even emotionally, dispute Swindoll’s contention above. Egypt and the surrounding lands apparently experienced one of the worst famines ever experienced by these people [see verse 56]. And here was Joseph, … exactly the right man in exactly the right position [obviously by God’s mercy and providence] to make a difference; and yes, he comes through with God’s flying colors. In verse 57 we read how Joseph, who not only didn’t hoard the proactively stored grain and food for himself or merely for Pharaoh’s court; but he opened the Egyptian storehouses for anyone who needed the food and for other neighboring lands who might want to purchase the excess to meet their needs. That’s humility, for sure. That’s accountability, to God and to his fellow man. And that’s integrity from God’s hand, through Joseph, to all who were in need.

Right now, as I write this, we are going through hard times economically. And in such times there are always those who have come into these times with more of God’s abundance than others. Some in the latter category of need are there because they have made poor economic choices. Some are in need because they couldn’t help it or because they couldn’t compete in a competitive world due to some handicap. And these times tempt and/or test those who HAVE to choose whether they are going to help those who HAVE NOT or merely to hoard the excess for themselves And as Swindoll indicates, Joseph came through this test of human temptations with the pure gold in his God-developed character. He prepared for the tough times; and when they came, he became a light of helpfulness in the darkness of privation.

I hope all can see, who read of Joseph, in the pages of God’s word, that he was an arch type of Jesus Christ. We see in, Joseph, Christlikeness like we never see in other Old Testament figures. Even great figures like Moses, David, or Solomon had their periods of human weakness and ill-begotten choices. But Joseph was a man like no others of the Old Covenant. He was like Christ; and we read from his life much of the character which we would read of in Christ in the New Testament. So, as we read his story, we need to pay attention to learn of the character of the coming Messiah who would become THE PERFECT picture of character for us.

And to close this entry, let me quote from Swindoll’s devotional, a prayer of aspiration to Christlikeness …

My Prayer Today: “Jesus Christ, I need You. I have all of this [Your providence] to account for; and I can’t take any of it with me. Please use me as you see fit.” Amen