A lot of people think that the tithe is just about the 10%. There is so much more to it though. Let's start in Malachi 3:8, "Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions." (ESV)
So when we withhold our tithes and offerings from God, we are essentially robbing God. This was a huge slap in the face to me! To know that I am robbing God when I don't obey His word to Tithe. When we withhold our tithes we are saying we don't trust Him to provide for us. He told us that He would supply all we have need of. "And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 (AMP) We must learn to trust in His love for us. He is our supply. Not our salary, not our jobs, nothing! He is our supply. Trust me, I know how hard it is to say, "Ok, God is my supply, He will provide for me." Once you surrender though, He holds nothing back!
"You are cursed with the curse, for you are robbing Me, even this whole nation. [Lev. 26:14-17.]
Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the
storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it,
says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you
and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to
receive it. [Mal. 2:2.]" Malachi 3:9-10 (AMP)
Now let me start out by saying God is a good God and He does not bring anything bad on you! If things aren't going as planned examine yourself, repent, and start anew. The only reason bad things happen is when we allow them to by our actions and our words. The devil has no power to do anything to you unless you open the door. (For more on this see previous blog posts, there will be more in the future too.)
When we bring the tithe (10% of our income) to the Lord we are trusting that He will pour out Blessings on us. We are taking what His Word says and testing or proving it! God even tells us to prove (or test) His Word in the passage above. I love the the last part of the verse where it says, "There will not be room enough to receive it!" How awesome is that?
Before I go any further I want you to get a mental image in your head. I want you to think of God as your Father. Can you see it? Now think about how much you want to give your children things, like if you had unlimited funds just imagine the things you would give them. Ok, do you see that? Now imagine this big, gracious God who loves you so much and wants to Bless you with everything above and beyond what you could ever think or imagine! Your love for your children is great but how much greater is His love for you? Can you picture it? Can you picture this big, loving God who wants nothing more than to see you grow and Prosper in every area of your life? Really take some time to let this picture sink in. Once you grasp this Great Love He has for you, you can do anything He has planned for you!
In verses 11and 12 it says "And I will rebuke the devourer [insects and plagues] for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you happy and blessed, for you shall be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts." (AMP)
This is one of my favorite verses. Why you may ask? Well because it says that when I give my tithe to God, HE WILL protect me from the devil (the devourer)! All the devil wants is to kill, steal, and destroy and God wiped him out with the Blood! I obey His Word and I stay Blessed in every area of my life.
Now I know you may be saying, " I can't afford to tithe." But I say you can't afford not to. You will always come up short if you don't obey His Word. Now am I saying that I am great at tithing? No. I have been really walking through this this year and I am determined to give and trust God where I feel I may come up short. Let me tell you, when I have given and felt like I would come up short I was Blessed with the unexpected and God has always come through. My life mantra is #NOFEARHERE. I live everyday knowing that God has got me, no matter what life brings!
There is so much more I could say about tithing but for now I just want you to think on this and put it into practice. Test His word and see what He can do! Remember that He loves you and truly wants to shower His Blessings down on you! Don't forget to keep your mental image of that big, loving God with you!
Please, if you have any question do ask. I would love to help you go deeper with God! Maybe you don't know this big, loving God and you would like to. All you have to say is "Lord, take my life and do something with it." Then go get a Bible and start reading. I would love to hear your testimonies about what God has done in your life.
When we bring the tithe (10% of our income) to the Lord we are trusting that He will pour out Blessings on us. We are taking what His Word says and testing or proving it! God even tells us to prove (or test) His Word in the passage above. I love the the last part of the verse where it says, "There will not be room enough to receive it!" How awesome is that?
Before I go any further I want you to get a mental image in your head. I want you to think of God as your Father. Can you see it? Now think about how much you want to give your children things, like if you had unlimited funds just imagine the things you would give them. Ok, do you see that? Now imagine this big, gracious God who loves you so much and wants to Bless you with everything above and beyond what you could ever think or imagine! Your love for your children is great but how much greater is His love for you? Can you picture it? Can you picture this big, loving God who wants nothing more than to see you grow and Prosper in every area of your life? Really take some time to let this picture sink in. Once you grasp this Great Love He has for you, you can do anything He has planned for you!
In verses 11and 12 it says "And I will rebuke the devourer [insects and plagues] for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you happy and blessed, for you shall be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts." (AMP)
This is one of my favorite verses. Why you may ask? Well because it says that when I give my tithe to God, HE WILL protect me from the devil (the devourer)! All the devil wants is to kill, steal, and destroy and God wiped him out with the Blood! I obey His Word and I stay Blessed in every area of my life.
Now I know you may be saying, " I can't afford to tithe." But I say you can't afford not to. You will always come up short if you don't obey His Word. Now am I saying that I am great at tithing? No. I have been really walking through this this year and I am determined to give and trust God where I feel I may come up short. Let me tell you, when I have given and felt like I would come up short I was Blessed with the unexpected and God has always come through. My life mantra is #NOFEARHERE. I live everyday knowing that God has got me, no matter what life brings!
There is so much more I could say about tithing but for now I just want you to think on this and put it into practice. Test His word and see what He can do! Remember that He loves you and truly wants to shower His Blessings down on you! Don't forget to keep your mental image of that big, loving God with you!
Please, if you have any question do ask. I would love to help you go deeper with God! Maybe you don't know this big, loving God and you would like to. All you have to say is "Lord, take my life and do something with it." Then go get a Bible and start reading. I would love to hear your testimonies about what God has done in your life.
Dallas <3
