THURSDAY: TITHE
KEY PASSAGE
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. 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.
DEVOTIONAL
What if I told you: tithing is not a financial practice, it is a spiritual one?
For many of us, we feel as though if we can get a firm grip on our finances, budget to the last dime, and stop buying Starbucks, then we can truly experience financial peace.
However, we often fail to realize that - while all of these things are good - we may have placed more trust in our own power than in God’s provision.
The action of tithing is giving back the first 10% of your income to the Lord through the “storehouse” you are a part of - the local church you call home. For us, placing our faith in God with 10% can seem daunting and even potentially disabling. However, the good news is: God can always do more with our 10% than we ever could with 100%. In fact, God actually challenges us to “test him in this”.
When we choose to participate in the faith challenge of tithing, entrusting God with a portion of what He has first entrusted us with, God will never leave us without. Maybe this year is the year you decide to trust God with your finances in this practice. Faith, in every area of our lives, is a muscle in need of exercising and stretching. Tithing is a great place to work your faith muscle.
CHALLENGE
1. Begin with something - though 10% is the biblical standard, starting with something out of the abundance of a joyful heart is more than enough to get you going.
2. Believe for something - in God’s kingdom, with every seed sown comes a harvest to be reaped. The harvest could look like your seed turning into a blessing for someone else or a blessing returned to you. Either way, entrust God with the seed and trust God for the harvest.
3. Between you and God– ask him what your next step in the giving process is. And ask him for the courage to take this next step.