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Stewardship
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He said, "Prove Me" Tony Hawkins In my opinion, one of the principal statements our Lord makes in
Malachi 3:8-12 is "Test me in this" referring to our
bringing the tithe into His storehouse; which He then
shares/distributes as needed. Our Creator is giving us permission
to examine His faithfulness and to participate in giving. Now to
the unbelieving heart, it is unfathomable how the Lord can accept
our tithe, double it, triple it, quadruple it, whatever the need is
for those who require that resource and then bless us for being
obedient to His word. When asked to share my thoughts on stewardship, my question was
how long do I have? So in 500 words or less, allow me to share with
you two stories that I hope will adequately express the importance
of God's faithfulness in imploring us to follow His
lead. My grandmother taught in Wake County for 46 years. As an active
and retired school teacher, my grandmother always seemed to have
monetary resources; food, clothes - she always had. On a North
Carolina teacher's salary during the latter half of the 20th
Century she supported her bachelor son at times and even gave aid
and comfort for a few weeks to her first grandchild after he came
off active duty. As I went through her personal belongings after
she passed away, I noticed a weekly check made payable to the order
of St. Mary's Church, Garner, NC. Without fail, Grandma tithed
like she paid her mortgage and her other financial obligations.
Grandma prayed regularly, worked diligently, played hard. She held
her great granddaughter and she was blessed. And she was faithful
in her tithing. Those checks to St. Mary's were a testimony to
her tithe and obedience. God was faithful to her and Grandma was
faithful to her Lord. When Lori and I were both teaching full time during the academic
year, September through June, tithing on bi-weekly checks and my
week-end mobile and radio DJ checks was no problem. However, during
the summer months, the only income generated was the music money.
Tithing was still first on our list. When we tithed on what was
first brought into the storehouse, we had money to meet our bill
obligations. If we did not tithe, we did not. You can call it
spiritual math or whatever, it worked just like that! Try it,
you'll see. Spiritual economics cannot be explained by human or cognitive
reasoning. It is a matter of being faithful and obedient to the
Word. Tithing is something that the Lord wants us to do from a
joyful heart. It's fun. It's a matter of recognizing Jesus
in your heart and obeying the Spirit of wisdom that passes through
the ages. I invite you to be blessed. Prove Him - tithe. It's
only 10% of the first fruits of your labor. Besides-it's
fun!!!! Watch the blessings grow. Send
items for inclusion in future "Cross Roads." © 2005 The Chapel of the Cross |