It has been a long time since my last post, not because I did not know what I wanted write, but because there has been so much going on in my world I frankly have not had the time to sit down and just write.
I have always found it a little strange when retired people say their lives are busier now than when they were working. Well I can relate. With all the free time, I have been doing all the things I had no time for before; like reclaiming my home and landscaping from Lovell who retired 6 years before I did related to a medical disability. Yes just think about that for a minute. LOL
Well enough with the excuses, the subject I’m going to write about is tithing. Yes that age old problem of too many people wanting their hands in my wallet. Especially at church when there seems to be so much need not only by the church its self, but by other ministries such as missions, teens and outreaches that you may not know a lot about.
If you are in church any where you know exactly what I am talking about. Do I sound a little down on giving, will think again. Giving and tithing is one of the most important aspects of belonging to the family of God, short of your relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not tithe you are missing one of the biggest blessings from heaven you can ever imagine.
No! Pastor Daniel has not enlisted my help in asking for tithes, but I being a lay person can say things in my
blog that pastors might find hard to say in a sermon.
blog that pastors might find hard to say in a sermon.
Listen folks I speak from experience and that is one thing that can not be refuted. You probably think your
about to hear another sermon on giving and maybe to a certain extent you are, but this may be the most important
story I have written to date. This concerns everybody living in thekingdom of God
about to hear another sermon on giving and maybe to a certain extent you are, but this may be the most important
story I have written to date. This concerns everybody living in the
In Malachi 3: 7-12 Scripture states:
Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty. 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 (or family in today’s language) —because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house (or money to support the church in today’s language). And here is the kicker:
“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. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations (people, in our language today) will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land, (home, in our language today)” says the LORD Almighty.
This scripture was brought home to me
Lovell and I had just built our home in Mauriceville and money was tight, not to mention the economics of the land was not in our favor. I remember sitting in the kid’s swing Lovell had strung up in a tall sweet gum tree in our front yard, crying out to God for help.
If only I had $10,000 dollars, I told God, we would be debt free and I could breathe. Now don’t laugh, that was a large amount of money in 1981. I was a stay at home mom and it took all our weekly resources to meet our obligations.
Sunday night I went to church to hear the Happy Hunters, I knew who they were because I saw them on PTL and knew about their ministry of humor. At the end of the sermon they spoke about tithes and giving and referenced the above scripture. They said that was the only instance in the Bible where the Lord said, “test me and prove me”.
As I said money was tight but I had a $20.00 bill in my purse, I pulled it out and said to God,” I trust your Word Lord”, make it happen, well so to speak. I left there excited about what God was going to do along with some apprehension as well.
A short time later Lovell said we needed to start tithing to the church, oh; we gave from time to time a few dollars in the offering when I had a little extra, which was not very often. I thought how am I going to tithe when I can only pay my bills. How many of you have said those exact words. Oh ye of little faith.
Well he was adamant and I complied. He still says to this day he does not know how I did it, but the money was always there. Okay, I had to juggle a little but God always provided.
Back to the story:
I can tell you money did not fall from heaven as a result of the $20.00 or the tithing we began, but a short time later Lovell was appointed to a new job making more money without rainouts (he was a construction electrician). And, a car was furnished with all the gas needed. Did I mention the car was available for us to use as we needed for our family as well.
Our kids were never sick at least with illnesses that would have been costly, and the bills were paid with extra in the bank. Wow God was so good, but because God knew the future he began to make further provision for our family. He had to prepare me for a huge change in my life.
Lovell lost the job four years later due to a change in the IBEW local politics. He picked up a job here and there, but soon had to travel to find regular work. God had begun speaking to me about going to college; I just wanted a career that would keep this from happening again. (That story is in my blog titled, “My Angel”).
I was devastated to be left at home with teenage kids while he worked in
About a year later Lovell found work at home but with a cut in pay. I was still in school and not ready to graduate for about a year and a half. I knew when I graduated our lives would be different because RN’s had no problem finding work at any hospital anywhere. The hospitals were even competing with sign up bonuses. I kept my nose to the grind stone and graduated May of 1989.
After graduation I signed with Baptist Hospital-Orange because it was close to home. From that time on God has blessed us in ways I would have never imagined. You see Lovell and I both came from very poor families and never dreamed we would succeed as we have.
God not only blessed us financially, but blessed our children financially as well. They are both Christians, married to Christian spouses. God is so good I can not imagine living my life without him.
God does not float money from heaven to supply our needs albeit he could if he wanted, but he meets your needs for the long term. Looking back I never would have dreamed the direction our lives have taken.
One morning a few weeks ago as I was spending time with the Lord reading Luke 5: 1-8 Jesus dropped a little insight into my heart concerning this story.
Jesus was standing by a lake and suddenly people began to crowd around him listening to what he was saying. He used one of the boats at the water’s edge to push off a little bit from the shore. Your voice carries on the water and that was his microphone.
When he finished speaking he said to Simon,” go out into the deep water and let your nets down for a catch”.
Simon was reluctant because he and his friends had fished all night and did not catch a thing, but because Jesus said so, they let down their nets.
The fish they caught was such a large number that their nets began to break and they had to signal for their friends to come help. Simon and all his friends were astonished at the catch of fish.
Jesus dropped this message into my heart; you see Jackie the principle of giving is in this story. I needed a boat; Simon had a boat and allowed me to use it. When I finished with the boat I gave back to Simon even more than he ever expected, if he expected anything at all.
Scripture states in Luke 6:38:
6 “Give and it will be given back 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”.
You see if you give a little you get a little. So give happily knowing you can’t out give God.
If you think about this principle of God’s Word it also works in the secular world. Consider Bill Gates, he has given millions of dollars to charity and God just keeps on giving back to him. If he can trust you with the blessings he will continue to pour them out. It is a principle of God’s word.
Well then tithing, what is in it for me? Just about everything, blessings I find hard to contain. Never doubt God, never, never, never. He is just waiting to bless you too.
Jackie
