Giving Generously

Deuteronomy 15: 10 

“Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of the the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to do.”

Dave told a story of a women who called in and said that she wanted to give a tithe to the church but she was so strapped in her budget she just could not afford it.  Dave told her that together they would go over her budget and see if he could help her out.  Six months later he gets a call from the same lady crying and laughing over the phone.  She begins to tell Dave that after the budget talk with her she began to tithe and six months later she have paid off most of her debt and they are making more money than before.  She then began to thank Dave and he quickly pointed to the word of God which says if we give generously the Lord will bless everything we put our hand to do. 

Tithing is not an ending salvation thing.  You won’t lose your place in heaven if you don’t tithe.  We are saved by grace not by works so the concept of tithing is a guideline God puts in his word to help us keep order in our financial lives.  The Word is full of Godly principles on how to live our lives financially under Gods rules, most are common sense if you think about it. 

I have been a tither most of my life. I grew up in church and tithing was just a thing you learned to do. I can admit that when I was a young man married with small children, the tithe was not so easy to give and for that part not generously either. I continued tithing even when Satan would whisper in my ear and say, “you really could use that money somewhere else”. I can look back at those years, and I know for sure the Lord had his hand on me and my family. He truly did bless everything I put my hand to. Those blessings were not always financial in nature, they were relational, having peace in the middle of storms, and being able to watch my daughters grow up and so much more.

Being a generous giver will turn your Scrooge closed hand of money into an open one full of peace.  Today, give generously of your talents, your time, and your money.  God is waiting to fulfill his part of verse 10 above the moment you give generously with an open heart.

Prayer: Father help me to be a cheerful giver. Help me to give generously to others of everything you have blessed me with. I stand on your promise in verse 10 Lord, you will bless everything I put my hand to in Jesus’ name, amen.