“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”Malachi 3:10
Because if He has called us for a purpose then why do we think we have no need to be purposeful?
And tithing? That takes intention. And preparation. And discipline. All purposeful living takes intention and planning and hard work, but He never promised the journey would be easy. Instead, He commanded us to take up our cross and follow Him.
It’s so easy to get so caught up in bills and clothes and groceries and parties and gifts and cars and electronics and even blogs that we forget the purpose of it all.
Today
Tomorrow
The next day
These have an eternal calling. A calling to bring Him glory.
The mudane of teeth brushing and dishwashing and exercising and money making are only as important as the reason we do them…the purpose behind them.
Your job is only as important as what you are doing with the money you earn and the relationships you are building. Because He wants to use every part of your life for His glory…not just the obvious ones.
And we hold on tight to our money and our relationships and our lifestyle because we don’t really trust that His way is better.
And we think that living in freedom means comfort and relaxation when really it means picking up our cross to follow Him.
And we think that if He wants us to do something He will drop it into our lap, but maybe He wants us to step out in faith before He blesses us.
And we think that there’s always an easier way than every-single-day obedience and minute-by-minute trust when that’s what He has called us to.
“Giving puts our trust in God, and displays our desire to have God be the most valued person in our lives…If you do not put God first in giving and time, you cannot claim to have Him be first in your life, because your choices show otherwise.”
Travis Sinks
So breathe in His Word and let the glory of His purpose flood your heart, then step out in purposeful obedience. Because the blessing, the rest, the fulfillment always follows obedience.
The purpose of His glory and our godliness can never be reached without our intentional, purposeful working to obey Him. And the breathing in of Him is useless if we’re not breathing out from Him in obedience.
“The clock and the dollar are such substantial factors in so many parts of life that their role must be considered in any serious discussion of becoming godly.”
Donald Whitney – ‘Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life’
Be blessed
<3
{This post is part of my 31 day series called “Breathe” that I am linking up with The Nester for this October writing project}
“Giving puts our trust in God, and displays our desire to have God be the most valued person in our lives…If you do not put God first in giving and time, you cannot claim to have Him be first in your life, because your choices show otherwise.”Travis Sinks
This right here! I have been struggling with teaching on tithing recently and been asking God just to show me his truth. I’ve gotten bogged down in theology and whether it’s New Testament biblical to title. Crazy, I know. I even cried and spoke to my Christian parents about it. I guess I have felt in bondage. But that’s not what it’s about. It’s my own stinking selfish heart that is shaken! I worry, I let fear in, and my mistrust in a faithful God is evident. And I could cry and cry.
Thank you for your words on giving and tithing. God is using you to directly speak to something I hide in my heart. Part in shame. Part in guilt.
Wendy! I’m so glad this blog post blessed and helped. God is such a loving Father and He has been so gently and rightly revealing my wrong attitudes towards money lately. It hurts, but it’s so good and so necessary. I will pray that He continues to heal and grow your heart and life in this area.<3 <3