Hallo people! I am blessed once again to share the Word with you. It's been really cold here for the last 4 days. It had been good up until Monday evening when the temperature suddenly dropped from the daily average of the 60s to the teens. I thank God for the shelter, warmth, all these good things which are so easy for I and us all to take for granted.
All of these things would be blessings from Him but we get blinded so easily to this fact. For us to live to see another day, it is by His power. Just as He allows us to manage these things, He can also take away.
As stewards, we even get sidetracked by His blessings which in many cases become an idol in themselves. God desires to be first in our lives, yet we end up putting these things first, which He would have given us, in His stead.
They can be material things like a house, good job, car, wealth in general, or intangible things like intelligence, gifts, talents, etc. But just as He gives these things to us, He can also take them away.
Being alive allows us to enjoy the blessings which He gives us, yet we even take for granted that we wake up everyday. I confess that it is not something I think about daily, that I am actually alive and well. It is not a guarantee to wake up the next morning.
The health which allows us to do all things, it come from Him. You can have all the wealth, power, etc but without health it is all nothing. One cannot enjoy the success, the wealth, all these things that God might have blessed with if their health is failing.
So to wake up alive, to be healthy enough to work and to enjoy these blessings, are all blessings from Him. But it is unfortunate that oftentimes we take all this for granted and even make idols out of the very blessings that He gives us, and put them first instead of putting Him the Source of all things first in our lives.
We see God's generosity in His blessing us daily, allowing us to live, giving us health, blessing us even in ways we don't consciously realize. We see His generosity even more in that when we are His enemies, when we do not know Him or recognize His hand in our lives, He is still merciful to allow us to wake up and see another day, and to bless us with all these things.
What more for us who do know Him and recognize. We have a bigger responsibility in realizing our position as stewards of all His blessings.
Life itself is His, the health we enjoy, and all these other things which even end up getting in the way of our relationship with Him, they are all blessings from Him. Just as He is more than generous with us, we ought to recognize His role in every blessing in our lives and that everything is His, even our lives and health.
Through the tithe and offering God was teaching us something that is hard for us to do on our own naturally. We are inclined to forget God and the role He plays in every aspect of our lives. Through the tithe, He was teaching us that he is the source of anything we think belongs to us. We are just managers, and don't own anything. He owns everything. He was teaching us not to get attached to these things as if they belonged to us, because they don't.
By returning tithe to Him, it would be a reminder that He is the source of all these things He would have given us to manage. Not that He needs the money from us. Instead it would be a reminder to us that God has blessed us with whatever increase we would be returning tithe on. Naturally we would rather spend all the money or increase, because we think we earned it and deserve it.
Yet it is by His blessing that we be alive and healthy enough to work and get that increase which we grudgingly return to Him, if at all. So the tithe serves that purpose of reminding us that He is the source of all the blessings. He does not desire us to return tithe to Him as a chore but He loves a cheerful giver. He doesn't need the money, but it is blessed to return Him with a thankful heart as a sign of gratitude for the blessings He would have blessed with. it is written:
[8] Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
[9] Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
[10] Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.[11] And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. Malachi 3:8-11.
When we withold tithe and offerings, we are actually robbing God. He owns these things and yet by witholding, we refuse to recognize that He is the owner of all things and we are just managers, and yet we hold on to them as if ours. We become robbers because we claim ownership of things which are not ours and deny that they actually belong to Him.
In verse 10 and 11 of the above verses, there is a blessing that attends recognizing that God is the owner of all things we are managing, by promising blessings.
When we return what's rightfully His to Him, not that He needs it but just so we recognize Him as the source, He will bless us. Herein is that principle of giving again. When we return or give Him a portion of what He gives us, we are recognizing and testifying to the fact that even though we have never seen God, we do believe that all blessings come from Him. There are blessings in returning tithes and offerings, and there are also curses in witholding them. When we are faithful, He multiplies even the little and makes it seem like much.
By witholding tithes and offerings, it is almost as if we are refusing to acknowledge the role God plays in sustaining us. Things do not go as well or could be better. A lot seems like little and it is as if one puts coins in a pocket with holes, as is written:
[24] There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
[25] The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. Proverbs 11:24, 25.
He has promised to rebuke the devourer who as is written:
10] The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10.
God will multiply little into much but the devil will destroy even much to little or nothing. The devourer will steal that which you withold, or destroy it, and yet God will multiply and increase the little you are faithful with and give you more, as is written:
[10] He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
[11] If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
[12] And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? Luke 16:10-12.
I will end here and conclude with the last part next time, God willing.
I had something on my mind today. I was just thinking about how amazing it is that God sustains us and blesses us, even when He is foreign and unknown to us. He blesses us with the rain for our harvests, and even causes His rain to fall on both the evil and the good, as is written,
[16] Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
[17] Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. Acts 14:16, 17.
[17] Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. Acts 14:16, 17.
[45] That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:45.
Even as some curse Him, He is long suffering and blesses with rain for us all to eat and to live.
I was just thinking about this, how even when we don't recognize Him or choose not to, that He is merciful enough to give us daily bread and another chance to ask for His forgiveness for our sins.
The strength for us to work we get from Him. To even wake up each day, it is by His power. The good health which allows us to work at those jobs which He also gives us, comes from Him. The money which we spend, we get from Him through these jobs He would have provided and enabled also by the health which He would have blessed us with.
Though not something we consciously think about daily, it is by His power and providence that we are alive and we have anything that we call ours.
If it is absolutely by His power:
[28] For in him we live, and move, and have our being; Acts 17:28.
Our life, our breathe and all things which we think are ours are in His hands. It is very easy for us to forget that God is the source of all things, and it is by His power that we live, move and have our being indeed. it is very easy for us to fool ourselves that because of our hard work we are successful. It is very easy to attribute the blessings which He gives us to ourselves, or that somehow we earned them and therefore deserved them, and yet it is pure Grace.
It is tempting to think that we are responsible for all these good things in our lives, whether it be a promotion, or a business doing well, etc. But it is important for us to realize that everything we are and think we have, belongs to Him. We don't own anything, and ultimately don't have control over the circumstances surrounding our lives as is written:
[1] The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Psalms 24:1.
We are stewards in every sense of the word. What is a steward? According to the oxford dictionary, it is one who looks after or manages another's property. We don't own anything but are managers, looking after what God gives us to manage while on this earth.
Just as the Lord gives to us, He can also take away, as is written:
[18] But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8:18.
[21] And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. Job 1:21.
All of these things would be blessings from Him but we get blinded so easily to this fact. For us to live to see another day, it is by His power. Just as He allows us to manage these things, He can also take away.
As stewards, we even get sidetracked by His blessings which in many cases become an idol in themselves. God desires to be first in our lives, yet we end up putting these things first, which He would have given us, in His stead.
They can be material things like a house, good job, car, wealth in general, or intangible things like intelligence, gifts, talents, etc. But just as He gives these things to us, He can also take them away.
Being alive allows us to enjoy the blessings which He gives us, yet we even take for granted that we wake up everyday. I confess that it is not something I think about daily, that I am actually alive and well. It is not a guarantee to wake up the next morning.
The health which allows us to do all things, it come from Him. You can have all the wealth, power, etc but without health it is all nothing. One cannot enjoy the success, the wealth, all these things that God might have blessed with if their health is failing.
So to wake up alive, to be healthy enough to work and to enjoy these blessings, are all blessings from Him. But it is unfortunate that oftentimes we take all this for granted and even make idols out of the very blessings that He gives us, and put them first instead of putting Him the Source of all things first in our lives.
We see God's generosity in His blessing us daily, allowing us to live, giving us health, blessing us even in ways we don't consciously realize. We see His generosity even more in that when we are His enemies, when we do not know Him or recognize His hand in our lives, He is still merciful to allow us to wake up and see another day, and to bless us with all these things.
What more for us who do know Him and recognize. We have a bigger responsibility in realizing our position as stewards of all His blessings.
Life itself is His, the health we enjoy, and all these other things which even end up getting in the way of our relationship with Him, they are all blessings from Him. Just as He is more than generous with us, we ought to recognize His role in every blessing in our lives and that everything is His, even our lives and health.
Through the tithe and offering God was teaching us something that is hard for us to do on our own naturally. We are inclined to forget God and the role He plays in every aspect of our lives. Through the tithe, He was teaching us that he is the source of anything we think belongs to us. We are just managers, and don't own anything. He owns everything. He was teaching us not to get attached to these things as if they belonged to us, because they don't.
By returning tithe to Him, it would be a reminder that He is the source of all these things He would have given us to manage. Not that He needs the money from us. Instead it would be a reminder to us that God has blessed us with whatever increase we would be returning tithe on. Naturally we would rather spend all the money or increase, because we think we earned it and deserve it.
Yet it is by His blessing that we be alive and healthy enough to work and get that increase which we grudgingly return to Him, if at all. So the tithe serves that purpose of reminding us that He is the source of all the blessings. He does not desire us to return tithe to Him as a chore but He loves a cheerful giver. He doesn't need the money, but it is blessed to return Him with a thankful heart as a sign of gratitude for the blessings He would have blessed with. it is written:
[8] Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
[9] Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
[10] Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.[11] And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. Malachi 3:8-11.
When we withold tithe and offerings, we are actually robbing God. He owns these things and yet by witholding, we refuse to recognize that He is the owner of all things and we are just managers, and yet we hold on to them as if ours. We become robbers because we claim ownership of things which are not ours and deny that they actually belong to Him.
In verse 10 and 11 of the above verses, there is a blessing that attends recognizing that God is the owner of all things we are managing, by promising blessings.
When we return what's rightfully His to Him, not that He needs it but just so we recognize Him as the source, He will bless us. Herein is that principle of giving again. When we return or give Him a portion of what He gives us, we are recognizing and testifying to the fact that even though we have never seen God, we do believe that all blessings come from Him. There are blessings in returning tithes and offerings, and there are also curses in witholding them. When we are faithful, He multiplies even the little and makes it seem like much.
By witholding tithes and offerings, it is almost as if we are refusing to acknowledge the role God plays in sustaining us. Things do not go as well or could be better. A lot seems like little and it is as if one puts coins in a pocket with holes, as is written:
[24] There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
[25] The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. Proverbs 11:24, 25.
He has promised to rebuke the devourer who as is written:
10] The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10.
God will multiply little into much but the devil will destroy even much to little or nothing. The devourer will steal that which you withold, or destroy it, and yet God will multiply and increase the little you are faithful with and give you more, as is written:
[10] He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
[11] If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
[12] And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? Luke 16:10-12.
I will end here and conclude with the last part next time, God willing.
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