Thoughts for Life: Why Should Christians Tithe?

Jean Oathout- Why should Christians give 10% of their income? Jesus tells us plainly in Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

In the words of Jesus, our following Him requires an aligning of our hearts to Him, and that includes our finances. (Google Image, Why?

When we give to where we're fed spiritually, we find ourselves literally and spiritually more investing in the things of God than we would otherwise. We learn to naturally be more inclined to care about God's mission because we've moved our finances out of the way.

For some churches, 10% is the starting point to gauge their generosity. They make it the floor, not the ceiling of their giving. It's not required to be a Christian, and not required by any law, but it tends to help lead one another in becoming generous people.

Today's quotes-

~ Onome Ogbajibrede- "Schooling with inadequate funds comes with its own peculiar challenges. Years ago, I was a poor student on campus, and life was not friendly to me then. My pocket money for the month was less than fifty dollars. Out of this little amount, I paid my tithe as a student.

During vacation, I engaged in odd jobs for extra finances. As a result of my faithfulness in tithing to God, He saw me through my academics with good results and without experiencing carry over. Each time people gave me money, I valued it, and I have not forgotten what they did for me." (Onome Ogbajibrede is an evangelist and a devotional writer who inspires and encourages people to come closer to God.)

~ Germaine Copeland- "My parents always tithed and gave offerings. One spring day my dad walked to his organic garden to find an invasion of destructive bugs eating up the young plants. Without hesitation, he went back to the house, picked up his Bible and asked mother to come outside with him.
They walked to the center of the rows of vegetables where dad read Malachi 3:10-11 aloud and prayed: Father we have been faithful to your word and paid our tithes with gladness. Now I thank You for honoring Your Word that says You will rebuke the devourer [insects and plagues] for our sakes. Lord of hosts, we declare that you are Lord over this garden.

They were not afraid to prove God. That year their crop was greater than every. We all gave glory to God, our Father, as we enjoyed the fresh vegetables that summer! They had plenty to share with neighbors and friends."

"Tell God that you trust Him to care for all your needs on this earth. Claim Him as your God, and promise to give back a portion of what He has entrusted you with—not because you are following a rule, but because when we give to God, our riches lose their hold on us and we are honoring the giver not the gift."

RevelationMedia info@revelationmedia.com via gmail.mcsv.net

Let's pray-

"Father, it is our delight to bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of our income) into the storehouse that there may be food in Your house. Lord of hosts, in accordance with Your Word, we prove You now by paying You the tithe where we receive our spiritual nourishment. Thank You for opening the Windows of Heaven for us and pouring out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it, in the name of Jesus. Amen." (Germaine Copeland- Setting Aside the Tithe, Prayers That Avail Much Commemorative Edition)
Malachi 3:10

Today's Bible verses-

Prov. 3:9,10)

"Honor the LORD with your
possessions,
And with the firstfruits of all
your increase;
(10) So your barns will be filled
with plenty,
And your vats will overflow
with new wine."

Malachi 3:8-11 (NKJV)

"Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me! But you say,
'In what way have we robbed
You?'
In tithes and offerings.
(9) You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
(10) Bring all the tithes into the
storehouse,
That there may be food in
My house,
And prove Me now in this,"

Says the LORD of hosts,

"If I will not open for you the
windows of heaven
And pour out for you such
blessing
That there will not be room
enough to receive it.
(11) "And I will rebuke the
devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy
the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to
bear fruit for you in the field,"

Says the LORD of hosts.

Words of wisdom-

~ We get to live for Jesus with our energies, talents and our finances! Let's pour out of our lives for Him, and have an impact with our Christ-centered living.

~ When we're living for the age to come, how are we going to use our talents and finances? Will we use what God's given to us for His glory, with heaven in view?

Today's guest opinion-

~ Warren Johnson- "In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ spoke about laying up treasures in heaven. He also gave us the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, and numerous other clarifications of God’s intent for us to understand the law and Jesus’ fulfillment of it.

When Jesus spoke of the storehouses, He encouraged community participation. He knew if we didn’t prepare for trouble, the fiery darts of the evil one would set us on fire, and we would be without the means to extinguish ourselves or our community.

Our challenge continues to be thinking long term, especially in today’s world of instant gratification, fast food, and entitlements. What God puts before us includes a plan for when disaster strikes. If we don’t add to the storehouse now, we will look in vain during times of great combustion. Not only will the buckets be empty, but also no community will exist to assist us.
The concept of community and abundance allows us to depend upon our church in times of need. We can put our money in a financial institution, but no one there can react to and bless us like the corporate act of worship when we add our resources to the church collection bucket."

Stewards of Time, Treasure and Talents
Message by Pastor Rick Sinclair

List of recent sermons of CFC ministers.

CFC Potsdam NY church has a live service

at 10 am Sundays for shut-ins,

If for some reason you can't make it to the church you usually attend,

click on the above link, and still get fed!
CFC Madrid NY is now streaming Live at 10:15 on Sundays!

Jean's blog (Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts)