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Legalistic rules about giving, together with the unbiblical 'word of faith' movement and its prosperity teaching has given Christians an unbiblical focus, dishonoring the gospel of grace, and has brought Christianity into the state of being held in low esteem by the public. Legalism and prosperity teachings has placed many into bondage under unbiblical, man-made rules. It has twisted the truth of Scripture and dishonors the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul spends a considerable chunk of his second letter to the Corinthians discussing the principles and promises that are connected with true, biblical giving, and he identifies cheerful giving as an obedient, generous heart and a beautiful Christian grace that bring blessings to others, benefit to ourselves, and glory to our Father in heaven. Paul outlines The Motives That Should Be Behind All Christian Giving. Each one must give according to what he or she has decided and in accordance with his or her means, and not in compliance with legalistic rules, selfish motives, or in response to a false preacher's greedy distortion of biblical giving. But Paul also points out that we are to be wise in our giving, to give according to our personal means, and not to feel embarrassed or obligated to give more that we have purposed in our heart simply because our gift is smaller in quantity or appears inconsequential by comparison with that of another. Cheerful giving that proceeds from a heart that loves to do the will of the Lord in spirit and in truth is applauded while a gift that is given grudgingly, comes from a heart that has misunderstood the true purpose of giving and which sadly misses the blessings that stream into the life of a faithful and true disciple of the Lord. Let us give of our time as well as our money. Let us offer our love to the Lord as well as our finances. We should all examine the hidden motives of our hearts as we give of our time, our money, our skill, and our talents, to see if our hearts are filled with joy and grateful thanks for all that Christ has done for us or if we are still using our Christian giving in response to legalist bondage, selfish motives, or for any other unbiblical purpose. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You that You have given us all things richly to enjoy and that everything we have comes from You. May we never be under the illusion that we can out give Your over-abounding gift of grace, in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. May we give faithfully, cheerfully, and generously of our time, our talents, and our money. May the motive behind our giving be pure and ever open to Your scrutiny. This we ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.
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Malachi was one of God's final messengers who identified the same problems that concerned Nehemiah, including ingratitude towards God, the sacrilegious behavior of priests and people alike, the practice of divorce, mixed marriages with pagans, and the denial of God's holiness and justice. The people would not acknowledge their sin nor accept any prophetic accusation. They refused to admit that they, or their forefathers had turned away from God's decrees and disobeyed His voice. The sin identified in this verse was Israel's failure to bring their tithes and offerings to the Lord: "Will a man rob God?" was Malachi's blistering accusation. The Mosaic Law required the people of Israel to pay a tithe, where a tenth of their produce and livestock was given back to the Lord. The tithe was to be brought 'into the storehouse' - into the Temple of God. As New Testament believers, We Are Not Under The Mosaic Law, and We Are Not Governed By The Giving Of Tithes or offerings. As Christians we are not under any legalistic requirement but are governed by a higher principle: Grace. Scripture does not require us to give a tithe, but teaches that we should give to the Lord willingly, liberally, and cheerfully. Our offerings to Him should be out of love for all He is, and all He has done for us. All that I am He made me, and all that I have He gave me' is a principle that Christians can freely adopt. This does not mean giving every penny we earn into the collection plate or to charitable causes, nor does it mean that living in poverty indicates spirituality. The principle we are to follow is to acknowledge, with a grateful heart and thankful praise, that all we have comes from Him. “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You that we are not under the Law, but under Grace. We praise and thank You for all that You are and all that You have done for us. We pray that our hearts would be open before you, and that You would develop in us loving and giving hearts and spirits of generosity. Help us never to fall into the same prideful trap into which many in Israel fell, when they refused to obey Your Word and robbed You of Your rightful place in their lives. Lord, we freely acknowledge that all that we are, You have made us, and all that we have, You have given to us. We pray that we may live and work for Your greater praise and glory. This we ask in Jesus' name, AMEN. How important that we hold this world's wealth and wisdom, together with position and power very lightly. What we treasure in our hearts will become that which we worship. We brought nothing into this world and will take nothing out of it, and yet too often we spend the majority of our time accumulating unimportant things and glorifying in the gaudy trinkets of this temporal world, at the expense of storing up a heavenly wealth of God's glorious blessings as part of our eternal heritage. When we treasure the things of this world, our heart is far from the Lord, but when He becomes the greatest Treasure of our lives, our heart will worship him in grateful thanksgiving and praise. The love of earthly treasure is a root of all kinds of evil, which can cause the believer to wander from the good news of the gospel of grace It can cause us to forfeit many of the rich blessings that God desires for each of His children to receive. Let us Treasure The Things Of The Lord, and unrelentingly pursue after righteousness and godliness, faith and love, perseverance and gentleness, humility of heart and joy in the Lord, when our treasure is rooted and grounded in Jesus, then our heart will be anchored to the Rock of our eternal salvation. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  Our United Prayer: Heavenly Father, we pray that we may know Christ and treasure Him for Who He is, and all He has done for us. May our hearts be rooted and grounded in Christ Jesus our Lord. Help us to fight the good fight of faith and not be tempted by the transient treasures of this world. Help us to secure good reports and to lay up for ourselves much treasures in our heavenly home, to Your glory. In Jesus' name we Pray, AMEN. There are many churches that are posting or preaching scripture that is very misleading and for our younger generation, this is one of the problems that exist today. Some churches have become very confusing. Too many denominations, manmade rules and scripture interpreted in ways that are misleading. Some churches want you to believe that you are to give the church 10% of you income and using the verse we posted today to lead you to believe something that does not exist. We found this on a membership page on a church website:
The Rewards of Tithing The Bible says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) When we as followers of Jesus tithe, we are expressing worship in a tangible way. We are showing that we have put God first in our lives, that He has our hearts. What does this have to do with tithing? God does not promise you any rewards for tithing at any church. If you put God first in your life, he has your heart without tithing. This is why we are compelled to give you scripture and God's meaning about giving over the next 3 days. There is too much confusion too many people who truly want a relationship with God but don't know where to go. In no way are we against churches at all. They have a purpose in which we have posted many verses in the past. The most important thing to know as a Christian is that The Church is not a building, The Church is all of God's Children! |
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