Tithing: September 27, 2011

SEPTEMBER 27 2011. TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

TITHING

DEFINITION:

The tenth part of goods; to give or pay tithes on such as income.

SCRIPTURE:

“You shall tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.” Deuteronomy 14:22.

“Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first fruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will over flow with new wine.” Proverbs 3:9-10

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Tithing is the setting aside of one tenth of all that God blesses us with to give back to the Lord. Tithing is of great significance in the life of those who are believers. Tithing is an important part of serving and honoring the Lord. The purpose of tithing is to demonstrate that we put God first in our lives. We are to give God the first fruits (the first and best) of what we receive. (Proverbs 3:9-10)

Giving God the first part of our earnings shows what we value most. It is a temptation to take care of everything else first and give the Lord something only if there is money left over. If the Lord is not a priority, we cannot expect Him to bless us. Proverbs 9:10 tells us that those who honor the Lord with their tithe will have their “barns filled with plenty.”

The Israelites were instructed by God through Moses to give God the first and best portions of their harvest and the best of their flocks to the Lord. It was a reminder to them that everything they had belonged to God.

From the time we were children our parents taught us the importance of tithing. They instilled in us that we were to give the first tenth of all the money we received before we spent it on anything else. I (Ken) can remember the cup and/or glass that sat on a table for us to put even our few pennies from our allowance in each week. My (Dottie’s) mother taught her three girls early on that if we received 10 pennies we should give the Lord the shiniest one signifying that we were giving our best to the Lord. It was a different day then, our allowance was in pennies.

This training helped us realize the importance of tithing as we got older. We believe today that because we were taught as children to tithe and then we have practiced tithing all of our lives that it may be the single most important reason that God has blessed us so abundantly.

If a tenth seems a lot, then remember two very important things. First, all we have belongs to God. Secondly, we can not out give God. We have found that the more we give the more God blesses us. We challenge you to tithe if you do not now. We could give you hundreds of examples of how God has blessed others just as he has blessed us. We learned to tithe even when it was difficult. We learned to give a tithe when we had to tighten an already tight budget. But every time when we needed help or came to a crises God provided far and beyond our need.

LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in I Corinthians 15:58.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

PRAYER:

Teach me today to tithe of all that You have blessed me with. Thank You, dear Lord for providing for me and my family in such a marvelous way. We honor You and thank You for being our God, our Lord and our Savior.