March 15, 2012 … The Telling Tithe

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 14-16 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Deuteronomy 14: 22-23: … [Tithing Tells the Tale of Faith] … 22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always.
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Deuteronomy 15: 10-11: … [Tithing, A Measure of Generosity] … 10 Give generously to them [i.e., the poor] 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 fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
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Proverbs 3: 9-10: … [Tithing Honors God] … 9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
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Malachi 3: 8-10: … [Withholding the Tithe Robs God] … [God’s proclamation] 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.
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2nd Corinthians 9: 6-8: … [Tithing With A Glad Heart] … 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..

My Journal for Today: Tithing! … Ugh! … Tithing is always a subject which raises eyebrows among church-going Christians. And why? … Simple answer: Few Christians tithe.

In an April 14, 2008 report, the Barna Research Group reported: ”Whether they believe in the principle of tithing or not, few Americans give away that much money. In 2007, the research revealed that just 5% of adults tithed.” … My guess is that the tithing percentage has only gone down in these last five years.

Today, in my chronological read through Deuteronomy 14-16 [linked above for your study], I encountered God’s instructions to Israel about tithing. And rather than give my fellow readers and followers a verbose blog on the subject, I decided to copy/paste above the Scripture passages which I could remember were pertinent to the subject of Christian giving and just let you, my fellow Christian, deal with what God’s Spirit has authored into His Word about tithing and giving.

I’m not going to say very much beyond what God tells us from His word on the subject (above). But it’s obvious – from these texts – and the poor record on tithing by Christians according the Barna research, that Gods’ church is robbing and dishonoring God of what He is due; and I believe that is what has made our country so vulnerable to the government become our welfare agency rather than the church. I’ve heard it said that if 50% of the American Church would tithe, there would be no need for our government to have a welfare system because the CHURCH in the USA could take care of all who needed assistance from the coffers which would be available to help the poor/needy.

If you read those passages above – as I did this morning – I think we all need to do a self-exam and ask ourselves …
>>> As a Christian, am I tithing; and if not, why not?
>>> Am I honoring God with my giving of tithes, talents, treasures, and time?
>>> Am I a cheerful giver; or do I give begrudgingly, out of obligation?
>>> Why don’t I test God and get my heart right by willingly giving more?

I’ll leave it to you to take my little test on the tithe this morning? Because God has challenged us in the Malachi 3 passage above to test Him and give our tithes and offerings, promising to bless our lives (see the Proverbs 3 passage) if/when we do. And then there is God’s sowing and reaping principle (see 2nd Cor. 9 above). For when we take all of God’s word above into account, we’re not only robbing God by withholding our tithes, given generously, we’re robbing ourselves.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, may I give to You with a joyful heart, knowing how much You have given me. Amen

August 13, 2011 … Giving Generously to the Lord

Passage of the Day: Matthew 6: 20 [see Scripture in bold/underlined ] … 19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

My Journal for Today: According to John MacArthur in Strength for Today, the early Church, as recorded in Acts 2, became a model for how believers were to “…store up treasures … in heaven …,” as Jesus was teaching in today’s passage.

As these early believers saw the needs of other fellow Christians, they were gladly willing to pool their resources and sacrifice generously to meet those needs. And according to the later discipleship teachings of both Peter (1st Pet. 1: 3-4) and Paul (1st Tim. 6: 18 – 19), that’s what kingdom giving was all about [and as it should for us now]. It is an investment of giving, gladly and generously, to honor God in the here-and-now. And for that investment of sacrifice, where a believer humbly gives with a generous attitude, it is God’s promise that treasures, abounding beyond our imagination, will be stored up in heaven to reward the generous Christian who was/is willing to sacrifice with gladness of heart in this life. Someone once told me, “God’s pay for His work in this life may not seem like much; but the fringe benefits are out of this world!”

And in the next life, upon reaping what we, as faithful followers of Christ, have sowed in this life, our bounty will be more gladly used to glorify the One – and the only One – Who is worthy to receive all honor and praise … our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

So, my dear ones who read this, in this life – our here and now life – we, who are benefactors of God’s infinite sacrifice on the Cross, must ask ourselves if we are handling God’s providence in such a way as to lay up treasures for His glory in the next life.

My Prayer Today: I can do more, Lord … so much more! Amen

2010 – June 14 – The Excitement of Restoration

Study from God’s Word… 2 Chron 24: 3; 2 Kgs 12: 4-5 [2 Chron 24: 4-5]; 2 Kgs 10: 32-36; 2 Kgs 13: 1-2; 2 Kgs 12: 6 – 16 [2 Chron 24: 6 – 14]; 2 Chron 24: 15 – 22; 2 Kgs 13: 3-4, 7; 2 Chron 24: 23-24; 2 Kgs 12: 17-18; 2 Kgs 13: 8-11; 2 Kgs 13: 11, 14-20 [2 Chron 24: 25-27] … Passage for Reflection: 2nd Kings 12: 13-15 … NIV 13 The money brought into the temple was not spent for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets or any other articles of gold or silver for the temple of the LORD; 14 it was paid to the workmen, who used it to repair the temple. 15 They did not require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty.

My Journal for Today: My devotional “shepherd,” Dr. F. LaGard Smith, has taken me through some parallel passages in 2nd Kings and 2nd Chronicles which chronicle the activities of the separated tribes of Israel, in the Northern kingdoms, and Judah, in the southern portions of the promised lands. And one has to be impressed by how God blesses when His peoples are obedient and how the people are laid vulnerable to evil when they are disobedient. And the operational applications from these scriptural accounts are obvious, of course.

And Smith is right on from his devotional today as he speculates what the world would be like now if God’s people were on a roll of obedience as they were in today’s highlighted passage, … when in Judah the Priests preached and declared God’s word about giving; and the people responded by joyfully [key attitude], bringing their tithes/taxes into the storehouse of the Temple with gleeful excitement. What was going on during these times could be brought out in the OT passage from Solomon about giving in Proverbs 3: 9-10 and in the NT exhortation by Paul in 2nd Corinthians 9: 6-7. And if you don’t know these by heart, I hope you’ll find them and meditate on their meaning … for the church and for each of us individually.

What would it be like for us individually, for the church, and for our world, if ALL believers, from any given country, did what God has instructed us to do in those two biblical exhortations above? Well, it would the playing out of God’s challenge and promise for all times from Malachi 3: 6 - 12 - linked here for your study. Think of it! God’s people do what God challenges believers to do … to bring their tithes into the storehouse (i.e., the local church). And if believers did that voluntarily and joyfully [i.e.,100% of believers giving 10% of what God has given us to the local church], there would be so many funds in the local churches that there would be no need for a welfare system in whatever country did that. The churches would have so much money that they could take care of any of the physical, emotional, or spiritual needs of their members. And there would be so many funds left over that churches could take care of needy non-believers in their area, which would be an incredible witness to the world, likely causing a massive turning to Christ wherever that kind of witness were noticed by a non-believing world in need.

However, the reality is that fewer than 5% of “evangelicals” tithe to their local church; and most churches struggle to make ends meet financially. So, we have to play the “what if” question; and Christ’s Church in the world is crippled in its witness because so few people come forward to give as we are challenged by God in those passages above. Historically we’ve seen – e.g., by today’s highlight passage – what could be; but we’re living out what is true right now as God’s Church backs away from God’s challenge to give so that God could prove to us what He has promised (again see Malachi 3: 8-10). But then, … see if you’re willing to take God’s challenge and give as God’s word instructs in the two other passages I’ve brought out above. Because God’s promise – from Malachi 3 – is that He’ll pour out His blessing upon you in ways you’ll find wondrous and amazing. God says, “Try Me!” But the question is …“Why don’t we?

It’s up to us, as believers, to see if we really believe God’s word on this and follow through by giving as He instructs. As a personal witness, my wife an I have been giving – prayerfully with joy – like this for years now; and we have been blessed with everything we would need and so much more. And beyond that, even on a fixed income as a retired government worker, my wife and I, by God's providence, have been able to give and support the ministry for which God called us to serve Him. And all we can say to that is Praise the Lord!

My Prayer for Today: Lord, You promised; … and You have delivered – BIGTIME! Amen