"Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard a thing for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded. God will never let you hold a spiritual thing for yourself; it has to be given back to Him that He may make it a blessing to others."
~ Oswald Chambers
“But I’m sick Ma’am,” uttered an inmate worker during an unexpected sick call request. He usually worked 12 hours in the kitchen, preparing foods. Just like others. He thought I would give him a chrono [medical note] for a few days “off-work” status.
“Sorry Sir,” I softly replied. “I heard your physical complaints but I couldn’t find any physical symptoms that would back up your claims. I am not ignoring your request. But how can I put you off of work when all of your vital signs are normal? You’ve been saying you have a cold. But your tonsils and throat are fine. There are no redness.” And the other symptoms I didn’t elaborate explaining. Knowing that they could potentially mimic those symptoms and fake their illness more.
Working for 10 years now in the prison, I have learned the inmate workers’ tactics of pretending to be sick. So they don’t have to work. They don’t want to work. At least, some of them. But not all of them. They are not willing to give their best to learn something that will make them proud. Or make them change their behavior as a result of doing a hard work. So, I have been careful to give “off-work” status.
When it comes to giving, lots of Christians struggle when it comes to “tithing”. While some churches over-emphasize it, others do not want to listen to the biblical exhortations about making this special offering for the Lord.
We are to give as we are able. It may mean giving more or giving less than the 10% we know of. Each one of us should seek the Lord for His wisdom as we participate in tithing or how much to give. [James 1:5 -”If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”]
Offerings should be given with pure motives and with an attitude of worship to God and as service to the body of Christ. “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” - 2 Corinthians 9:7
So…question is…are you willing to tithe or you’re too tight?
What the people were thinking during offering in a church:
1st man: “Hmm…10% of $455=$45 & 50 cents. But I only have $46 in cash. I wonder if I could take my change in the basket.”
Lady in blue: “God, You’ve been so good to me. Thank You for Your provision in my life.”
Lady in red: “Where does all this money go? Shouldn’t the pastors know that we need softer toilet paper in the bathroom? I think that instead of giving money this week, I’ll buy the toilet paper that I like and give it to the church.”
Woman in black [after the girl]: “Lord, You know my needs. I give this in faith. Please cover my debts and make my car lasts a long time.”
Man with striped tie: “Since I sent my money to that television evangelist this week, I’ll count that as my tithe.”
Girl in pink top: “Lord gave me a dollar and I got to put it in!... Why do we do that anyway?”
Man with brown tie: “As soon as I get out of debt, I’ll start tithing.”
Woman in blue top: “10%? Where does that come from? What happens if I only get 5%? No way! That’s too high!”
Old man in pink shirt: “God, I know You see how much money I’ll give. I hope this pastor will appreciate it.”
Woman in black & white top: “Okay God! You know I’m giving more than the usual 10% this week. So, next week, I’m keeping it all.”
Man in blue shirt: “I cleaned the sanctuary this week. That’s worth about $50. What do you know? That’s 10% of what I make. I’m covered.”
Please visit Spiritual Sundays for other encouraging posts. It is always great to reflect on His love and to see what He is doing in each of His children's hearts. God bless you all.
STUFF
1 week ago
The question always comes up:
ReplyDelete"Do I give 10% of Gross Earnings or Net Earnings, after taxes?"
The answer from above:
"Do you deserve 10% of Gross Blessings or 10% of Net blessings?"
A total stranger could break into your home this very night, and leave almost everything.
Why? Because all of us accumulate worthless material. Our homes are filled with waste.
Look around your place.
Give away what you do not need.
Give to homeless, shelters for battered women, prison ministry, Salvation Army, Haiti, anywhere...to do good as stewards.
Many resent the rich lifestyle of pastors.
YOU are not held accountable for how tithes are spent. (They are!)
YOU are held accountable for how tithes are given.
So give.
NOT necessarily to a church.
Christ showed giving, with the message of the Good Samaritan.
Tithing takes many forms.
And do not do it for the tax deduction.
If you do, you have received your heavenly reward already. Why not skip the deduction and see how God treats your tithe one day?
"But I could give MORE if I use the tax rules", you say.
I say "It is no longer YOU giving when you do this; it is the government tithing".
Be generous, for what goes around, comes around. Be generous if NOTHING comes around.
Your generosity becomes a spiritual blessing to others. God's eyes search the Earth for such activity still.
Ten lepers healed; ONE comes back and says: "I just want to thank you for what you did for me".
Christ replied: "Were not ten of you healed? Where are the other nine?"
Be a ten every time.
The ratio of gratitude was noted by Christ in the leper story, and will be noted again in end times.
Folks don't tithe.
Folks won't tithe.
Be an encourager to others to tithe, by generously doing the same.
That is a very powerful post. I had never seen that video before. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAs always Rosel, great posts and thoughts to ponder. I seem to always give more than 10%. Blessings.
ReplyDeletePressed down, shaking together and running over!
ReplyDeleteThank you dear sister for the reminder.
Such a moving video.
Have blessed weekend.
Wonderful post and one that all of us need to be reminded of. Another thing we should remind ourselves when we think we "give so much!" is that we can NEVER, EVER out give God. Amen.
ReplyDeleteHugs and thank you for stopping by. I hope the rest of your weekend is blessed and wonderful.
Very interesting, Dear ~ I know God does love a cheerful giver. Have a blessed weekend.
ReplyDeleteJohn Wesley was one of the great evangelists of the 18th Century, born in 1703. In 1731 he began to limit his expenses so that he would have more money to give to the poor. In the first year his income was 30 pounds and he found he could live on 28 and so gave away two. In the second year his income doubled but he held his expenses even, and so he had 32 pounds to give away (a comfortable year's income). In the third year his income jumped to 90 pounds and he gave away 62 pounds. In his long life Wesley's income advanced to as high as 1,400 pounds in a year. But he rarely let his expenses rise above 30 pounds. He said that he seldom had more than 100 pounds in his possession at a time.
ReplyDeleteThis so baffled the English Tax Commissioners that they investigated him in 1776 insisting that for a man of his income he must have silver dishes that he was not paying excise tax on. He wrote them, "I have two silver spoons at London and two at Bristol. This is all the plate I have at present, and I shall not buy any more while so many round me want bread."
When he died in 1791 at the age of 87, the only money mentioned in his will was the coins to be found in his pockets and dresser. Most of the 30,000 pounds he had earned in his life had been given away. He wrote,
I cannot help leaving my books behind me whenever God calls me hence; but in every other respect, my own hands will be my executors.
In other words, I will put a control on my spending myself, and I will go beyond the tithe for the sake of Christ and his kingdom. (Quotes from Mission Frontiers, Sept./Oct. 1994, nos. 9-10, pp. 23-24.)
Another powerful post! I am blessed to be your friend. THANK YOU!!
ReplyDeleteHugs and prayers,
andrea
Hope you have an awesome weekend fulfilling GODS call! Sending prayers! You are always on my mind on the weekends! I know you are "on duty."
Hi Rosel,
ReplyDeleteAnother powerful post! Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful Sunday.
Blessings,
Sandi
Hi you all! Thank you for visiting me. I love John Wesley bro. Ike. Thank you for sharing that awesome story.
ReplyDeleteTo me, it's not about the tithe but of the tither, not about the gifts but of the giver, not about the possession but of the possessor. How can we hold back anything from the One Who gave everything we have in the first place?
God bless you all. And yes, I will remember to be a "10" Keystone.
Happy Sunday to all of you. God bless all of you!
What interesting thoughts. Someone has said that the only money we can keep is what we give away. It is still more blessed to give than to receive although receiving is good too. God has given me more than I could ever give back to him.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Charlotte
Isn't it amazing that God has never increased what we are to give Him? It is still only 10%. The Creator of the universe has never gotten a cost of living raise. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, speak it sis. Very powerful, love you.
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful video. We should play this at our church.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless,
Ginger
interesting video. Great post as usual. Have a great rest of the weekend. Stay strong and safe. sarah
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder. So many people sturggle with thithing.
ReplyDeletePrecious Sister,
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful post. I know of a person who didn't have any money to tithe one time and put a ring in the basket. This person truly wanted to give and gave what was on hand (literally).
Love you my friend,
Alleluiabelle
If He truly has your heart the issue of your pocketbook and your time is nil.
ReplyDeleteRosel, As always you bring up things to make us think about what is in our hearts. Thank you for great post. Carol
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. One of the first books I will be reviewing on my blog this year is TITHING from Thomas Nelson publishers.
ReplyDeleteR. G. LeTeurno was very blessed by the Lord. He gave 90% of his income and lived off 10%. What a testimony to God's faithfulnes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post. I adored the Oswald Chambers quote. May we each be faithful and give as we believe God is directing us.
ReplyDelete..amen
ReplyDeleteso much confusion over a task that we as christians should all ready have in our lives.
ReplyDeleteHi Rosel, came on by just to tell you that I was thinking about you and praying for you this evening. Thank you for sharing with us today and thank you for having a HEART for the LORD. You're a beautiful presence in the Kingdom!
ReplyDeleteHugs and love!
Rosel,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing that very interesting video. I think it should be shown in every church at some point in the year. Too many people don't understand tithing. I am a consistant tither and I trust the Lord to care for me.
Blessings,
Jean
Very good! I loved how you started off with Chambers and then painted a picture for us with the prison story!
ReplyDeleteThanks,
LeAnn
Tithing is more than a blast when we truly are trusting God for all that we have and thankful for being able to give back to help others come to know Him in the same way. But it is so very hard if it is seen as an obligation or tradition that is expected by God when we are not even sure if we are going to be taken care of ourselves. It is all a matter of knowing the care of our Father! And living in the overflow of it! :) Great post again, Rosel.
ReplyDeleteI have some bloggy love for you over at my place. :)
ReplyDelete