Tag: Income

Guidance on Giving

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Giving, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Tithe, Tithing, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Sunday, 2021-08-08
WRITTEN AT: Hattiesburg, MS

SCRIPTURE FROM: Deuteronomy 26:10-12
TRANSLATION: The Voice (VOICE)

BIBLE TEXT: 10 And now I’ve brought the very first produce from the ground that You, the Eternal, have given to me.” Then present the basket to the Eternal your God, and bow down before Him, 11 and celebrate all the good things He has given to you and your household. Be sure to invite the Levites and the foreigners who live in your town to the feast.
12 When you’ve gathered a tenth of your produce at the end of the third year, the year for local tithing, give it to the Levites, the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows who live in your town. Let them come and take as much as they want to eat for as long as these supplies last. 

APPLICATION: I have read many Scriptures in my day, but this particular chapter had a deep impression on my mind. Moses shared God’s commands with the Israelites as they were about to set out on living in freedom. In the first part of the chapter, the farmers are told to give their first fruits to God. They are to gather them in a basket then take them to the temple. Moses gave them guidance on a prayer they are to say before God; followed by a meal with their family and temple leaders while at the temple; culminating with a time of praise and thanksgiving before the Master. Perhaps farmers do this today and I am just unaware of their private actions, but I believe this would be a far reaching testimony to the church leadership, to farm laborers, and to the family members who join in. In fact, I believe that when God sees that He comes before the bank loan, before the utility companies and before equipment leasing companies, then He will know without a doubt where our heart is. I believe that each of us are well aware of the increasing number of widows, orphans, and church workers who receive little or no income who live in our communities, and we wish we could help them all. But notice in verse 12 that every 3rd year, the first fruits are to be made available to these individuals. Today churches are hesitant to help those in need because they have been ‘burned’ so often through abuse, but wouldn’t it be awesome if others were doing their part, like our local farmers? Now imagine for a moment how a widow would be blessed to hear about a farmer who has fruit that he’s giving away. They arrive at his place of business and just stammer in awe as they try to determine why he is GIVING freely to them. Imagine how they will tell the world how awesome that man of God is! Imagine how his business will flourish because of his obedience to God! Friends, I believe that Satan places so many excuses in our minds that we tend to assume we know better than to follow God at His word. Notice that there were no conditions for the farmer to use in who benefits on that third year, other than their class. We tend to place conditions on who we will tithe to, when our income has reach a level to which we could start tithing, when we will stop tithing, etc, etc. Friends, if not for the grace of God, would we even have an income? Since He blessed us first, shouldn’t we go on blessing Him? God said that we are to give of our first fruits, may I suggest that in obedience to God, that we give freely from our income before doing anything with the remaining 90%. Remember, you can’t out-give God!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Give, and it shall be given to you!

PRAYER: Lord, I’m sure the excuses that we give, must make You sick. To hear a child say ‘Not my hard-earned money’, must really confirm that your blessings have been unappreciated and received vainly. Lord, please remind us each day how You’ve blessed us so that that our hearts may always be filled with praise to our Maker. It’s You oh Lord who have blessed, and who has given everything for our benefit. May we give freely as You have given to us, and may our hearts be filled with praise continually. May our giving be so representative of You that others will see the heart of God as we give, and may they be drawn to You. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Put God To The Test

On By Ed AlgreenIn Giving, TitheLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2016-07-13

Scripture

Bible Reference: Malachi 3:8–10

Bible Text:  8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me!
“But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’
“You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. 9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

I would imagine that most of us would get highly upset, and probably angry, if someone accused us of cheating. But what if God accused you of cheating? I believe that we would be extremely saddened, because for those of us who study the Word; or attend church to learn more about the Word; we try desperately to adhere to the expectations of Jesus. We want to please Him, right? But wait a minute, this is the same example given in the verses above, so let’s examine the church today – ‘us’. In the Bible, God gives us guidance on what he refers to as a ‘Tithe’ – 10% of all that God has blessed us with. But there are also liberties taught around the idea of giving: from a cheerful heart; Giving from the abundance of the heart; and giving as the Lord impresses upon the individual; just to name a few. Therefore, some tend to give a tithe (10%) of their gross income and they make it the first check that they write, based on the teaching that the first fruits belong to God. I believe that You will notice some tend to think that the heart will hurt too much if they give so much to the work of the Lord, so they give 10% of some other figure – either of their net check or net after all expenses are paid for the period. God is our Judge, and I will not assume His exalted position on this subject, but a simple analysis of the facts that I have shared will indicate that God can still accuse us of cheating – either cheating Him, or cheating our families of extra income. I have heard of folk who count the pills received in their prescriptions, to make sure they were not ‘cheated’. When we find our own descriptions or explanations for something that God has declared, and wind up not giving God the full share of what He has ‘prescribed’ for us, could that be considered ‘cheating’? The work of the Lord through local churches is shutting down in many instances because folk are ‘cheating’ God of their time (to worship and fellowship together with other believers) and their money, through not bringing their tithe to the storehouse (the church) to help it meet the physical and spiritual needs of the body. God has promised to bless us by pouring out His blessing on us, if we obey His command to tithe. He has even offed somewhat of a guarantee to us by promising to fill our barns. He also dared us to test Him and see if He wouldn’t do what He has promised. From a personal testimony, I can assure you that if you are obedient, God will meet your every need, as if you had access to your full check to spend it any way you would like. There is never too little, or too much income. 10% may result in a $1 tithe, or perhaps a $1,000 tithe. The same principle applies friend. Take God at His word – Test Him!

Prayer

At a time when so many churches are closing their doors because of lack of income, we also find that many are closing because of lack of attendance. Father, please melt the hearts of Your precious children and help us all to draw closer to You. As this occurs, we will want to draw closer to other children of Yours – our Brothers and Sisters, and we will want to learn more about our awesome Savior. As we do this we will want to be obedient to You, and this will include being faithful in our giving, as instructed in Your Word. As You continue to bless us financially, please help us to also bless the work of our local church so that Your ministry might continue, especially to the end that more and more non-Christians will come to accept You as their Lord and Savior.  In Your name I pray, and with a heart filled with thanksgiving, AMEN!

Footnote

If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!