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Ok, snow?!?! It is actually snowing this afternoon on my mountaintop. It is wwwwaaaayyyyy to early to be spreading the white stuff.
Today I was with Eileen at Strong while she was getting ready to go to Benecassa in Mendon. Kathy; her sister; and I stood off to the side when the nurse came in to go over her discharge orders. We listened to Eileen's nurse explaining the papers with tears streaming down our cheeks. Nothing is more heartbreaking than to hear her say the words "you had a CAT scan while you were here and it was determined that there was nothing that we (Strong) could do to extend your life. Therefore, you understand this is the reason that you will be taken care of from this day forward by the wonderful hospice nurses at Benecassa. You also have the right to disagree with our decision and ask that we do further treatments if you think that it would be beneficial." Eileen's' lip started to quiver and in a tiny little voice said that she understood and signed it. WHAM - reality check right in the face. It was like she was signing her own death certificate. It felt like that for us bystanders and it felt like that to her. She is not going to be on this earth for too much longer, and this paper is like a verification. I kissed her goodbye and left her in the grieving hands of her family. Please pray for God's grace and mercy, that He will bring the peace she needs as she prepares for the next journey.
Ok, enough about Eileen (sorry). I want to focus on a couple of verses and I need your input. I am probably weird, but when God convicts me with something I should be doing, or something I have done, I see it as a blessing. Why a blessing? Because if God doesn't bring forth what His will is for me, then I will not grow in His Holy Spirit.
The verses that have taken over my little bitty mind the past few days are: Proverbs 3:56, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." and also Malachi 3:10, "Bring the whole tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this", says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."
The Proverbs verse is probably the one verse that most of us have etched in our memories, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart.....". The magical word here is "trust" or not to doubt. And "with all your heart" no less. Ouch. That is easier than done for me sometimes. I have caught myself all too often of not trusting the Lord. But it is right there....."In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." So why is it so hard to trust Him in everything?
The area of my life where I lack the most trust is with my finances. I can't figure out why I can trust Him with my health, or with my family, but I have the worse time trusting Him with my checkbook. But I think that those two verses should be side by side in the bible.
See, I never tithed before. I gave my weekly offering, but I wasn't tithing. One excuse was that Roy would have had a cow if I gave the church 10% of his paycheck. Especially when he is the only one in this family that brings home a check. Another excuse was, if I tithed then we would have to go without that much in groceries or have to give up something. Both excuses would require trust for which I was lacking. But I prayed and asked for the faith and trust (or courage) that I needed from Him. I mean that it is the only place in the Bible where He says to "put Him to the test". Well I am always up for a challenge, so I started tithing. It was 1/3 of my grocery money!
I tithed with a joyful heart and things seemed to be just as He said it would be. But then gas prices doubled, the bills were really starting to pile up, and groceries was fast becoming a luxury. So I freaked! Yes, He was providing for my needs, but I guess I had this idea that if I were trust Him enough to tithe, then He would "pour out so many blessings that I wouldn't have room for them all". But where I was standing there wasn't a big enough box to fit all the bills into, and my parents were requiring more attention (thus more gas for the car), and my kids were screaming for me to buy real groceries. I am ashamed to admit that I quit tithing and started just putting a couple of buck in the plate now and then. I can't even keep up with my pledge (but that's another blog, lol).
Now this is where I need you tithers and non-tithers to jump in and help me. Part of me says that seeing that I repay my debtors and keep my family fed is doing what the Lord wants me to do. But then I struggle that the reason I didn't see blessings pouring in fast enough to keep the electric on was the result of not keeping the faith. Maybe I threw in the towel at the first sight of trouble.
What do you think? What are your thoughts on tithing? I have a couple of friends who tithe faithfully no matter what else is on their plate, and I admire their trust. But like me, a majority of my friends do not tithe for other reasons. Let's talk and help each other walk down this narrow path He wants us on.
A place where you are welcome to share their thoughts, comments, praises, questions, experiences, and your journey. A place for people who's goal is living today for the glory of God, and reaching our goal of the spending eternity with my Lord and Savior. We all walk down different paths on our journey. Let's talk and walk together!
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- Becky
- Southern Livingston County, NY, United States
- I am on a journey. I am on the journey of searching, learning, obeying, praising, and walking on the narrow path with eternal life being my ultimate destination. I am a Bible-thumping Jesus lover who believes that the Bible is God breathed. I use my Bible for comfort, knowledge, wisdom, conviction, but mostly to know Him better. My personal relationship with God is the most important relationship that I have. I am married and have four children and four grandchildren. Though no one in my family, except myself attend church, they are believers. My prayer is that they will invite Jesus into their lives and hearts and receive the gift of salvation.
13 comments:
We tithe. But we don't do a "weekly" tithe. We commit to a yearly amount and Doug puts in money every once in a while. When he gets behind, Joan lets him know and he finds some money to give her. At the end of the year we do our best to get caught up. I know that our situation is different than yours, Becky. I don't have to pay attention to money so much anymore and it's a big change from growing up or my first marriage where I was counting every penny. I feel for you. I didn't have children or a house to take care of then, but it still was a miserable time for me. I have always paid my bills and tried to keep ahead of the game. Growing up, when Dad got hurt and had to stop working and the brunt of everything fell on Mom, I remember thinking "I will never let that happen to me". I didn't want to be in debt and that's why I didn't go to college; I didn't want school loans. I guess I've always felt that your tithing is more than just what you put in the
collection plate. What do you give to other charities? Do you buy girl scout cookies and popcorn from the boy scouts? Do you contribute to worthy fundraisers? We all know that what you donate in time to the church adds up to WAY more than 10%! I've always felt that was part of your tithing as well. I suppose I could be guilty of loose interpretation here, but that's my take on things.
Tithing...Eeww Wee...you picked a good one here Beck! I'm with Wendy on the topic. it's a matter of being practical, for me. Since I have to live with the only check-maker in the house, then I must be practical. I trust that God knows and understands my heart and that He wouldn't want me to do anything against my husbands will/requests. A cop-out? Maybe so. If I were making the money, would I view it differently? Would I tithe or would I be stingy? I don't know...I'd like to think that I could trust my Lord with the money he so graciously supplied me. But truth be told...I don't know... I'm glad to have the scape-goat. I have enough troubles!
Sandy (toomeys2go@aol.com) responded by email, because she couldn't get her computer to work right:
Regarding tithing, I don't either. I come closer when I just look at my income. Joe, my husband, believes ind Jesus and lives a clean life but he is not a believer in organized church. Thank God, Joe doesn't give me a hard time on my donation. I believe you, Becky, tithe in a different way. Your tithe comes in donated time, gas, food, love, etc. That all counts toward a tithe. Don't feel pressured to a financial tithe. Even if you did, you don't have to give the entire tithe to one church. And, any church should understand that. Unfortunately, having a physical building and devoted pastor cost a lot of money. Most all the money collected at the offering goes to support that. Trust in the Lord that the money will be there to support the church.
Ok, so lets say that I have $10 a week for spending money. Out of that $10 I give $1 of it to the church. Yet my husband gives me $200 a week to pay bills and buy groceries, and out of that I put $20 in the plate. My dilemma is do I trust Him enough to give $21 (mine and his) and still be able to stretch the balance far enough? Do I know in my heart that the Lord will carry us by seeing the bills are paid and food is on the table? Seriously, no, I don't think I do. And the odd thing is, is that I have experienced His blessings.
Now if I had $2000 a week to pay bills, buy gas and groceries, then I wouldn't have a problem putting 10% in the plate, because I would have that cushion.
That is what I am talking about. When I have a cushion to fall back on, whether it is finances or anything else, then I don't have a problem putting all my trust in Him. But is that really trusting Him? Maybe?
So how do you develop that kind of trust? How do you "trust in the Lord with all your heart..."? How do not let fear take over and let God step in?
See, I would love to be able to give and give. I WANT to be able to give and give. And not just time and service, but to be able to put cash in a mothers hand while she is in line with a zillion kids in tow. I would find such joy being the giver as much joy I get being the receiver.
I am going to pray about this. And I will let you know what happens.
You guys are the best and are more than welcome to change the subject whenever you want.
Sorry I'm late to the party....
Tithing is a tough one. I do think that to be successful, both spouses have to be on board with it.
My mind works like Becky's does and I can beat myself up pretty badly with the round-and-round of trust or not....There are some Sundays that, as the offering goes past, I want to reach in and take that check back out! But, in the past few weeks, I have learned that my constant struggling with the Lord is costing me too much. When I second-guess Him, it causes Him pain. The last thing I want to do is make the Lord sad.
He does rain down blessings on us when we are faithful and trusting. I have less materially now than at any other time since Mom was raising 5 of us alone. But, my life is full and His grace is poured out on me new every single morning.
What's right for me may not be what is right for anyone else. That's the beauty of it. Our relationship with the Lord is a very personal one. His Word assures us that He has a plan for each of us.
So, Becky, keep us posted on how the Lord works this out for you. Praying and reading His Word will lead you to the answer He has prepared just for you.
I was just re-reading the verse from Malachi. The tithes are to be brought into "His storehouse". Could it be that the Lord cares just where we do give our tithes? Do we give to a church (or organization) which truly does His work in the world? Or does all the money get used up by the organization without any thought to supporting the Lord's work? If all the money is going to maintaining a building, paying salaries, and keeping the heat and lights on, how is the Lord's work being funded?!
Our great commission is to go forth and take the Gospel to the whole world. Could it be that blessings are not poured out if the tithes are going into a "storehouse" that is not His?!
Just a thought....
Right-on, Mary! I love that comment and biblical back-up from Malachi.
Mary!!! How did you get so wise?? I believe you may be on to something here. I will let you know how I work this out with the Lord. I need to pray as to where He wants me to give, not so much about how much he wants me to give. I know that there are so many places I would love to give. These are places that really minister to me and who are really getting the Gospel out to our world.
Thank you everyone for your comments and for reading. Pass this blog onto friends and family. I will be blogging on something new next week. I am open to any of your suggestions. Love you all!
"With what shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil?.....He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:6-8)
Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them,"Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributions to the treasury; for...she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on." (Mark 12:43-44)
God doesn't care how much we give, He wants only what we are willing to give out of a pure heart. Putting thousands into the plate doesn't matter to Him if it's done with no thought of His Kingdom. But fifty cents given by a lover of Christ is a great treasure. Caring for others is another gift He treasures above all others.
So, you servants for Jesus, keep on serving! Don't let $$-signs intimidate or humiliate what you do have to offer.
With Eileen going home to Jesus, one of my devotional readings stuck with me. I've decided to share it with y'all. It's from "Whispers of His Power" by Amy Carmichael.
Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." Amy writes: "What comfort is there, if you have lost a beloved child,a husband or wife, a father or mother, or other close relative or friend?
"Will this help? If our Lord Jesus came into our garden and asked for a flower, would we choose a faded flower, or one we did not like and did not want, to give to Him? We know we would never do that.
"He has come to our garden. He has asked for one of our sweetest flowers. Do we grudge Him that flower? Do we wish He had chosen another? In our hearts we know that if we really saw Him come we would say, 'Lord Jesus, take our best.'
"Then let us say that to Him now. He will take good care of our flower."
Okay, this is annoying. I started this blog and published it, now blogspot says that I am not the manager. Don't have time tonight to find out how to fix it, so I am just going to add the new blog as a comment.
"The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: "He is good; his love endures forever." Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God". 2 Chronicles 13-14
This was when Solomon had just finished the temple and they were celebrating. But what really hit me was the last sentence: “Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God". Can't you just picture this?!? They were praising God for His grace and provisions and the glory of the Lord filled the temple with such a cloud that the priests couldn't even perform the service! Their praises brought God into their presence. Wow!
That got me to thinking about my prayer life. Can I truthfully say that I go to the Lord in prayer just to give Him praise for all that He has done for me, or given me? Truthfully, I think it is only when I have a prayer answered or see a blessing He has bestowed on me. Most often than not, when I am praying I am praying with a request for myself, my family or for my friends. I always thank Him for His grace and mercy. I always confess my sins and ask for forgiveness. But I honestly do not just spend time praising and worshiping Him for who He is and His blessings in my life.
I wanted to learn more about this prayer/praise/presence thing, so I started digging. This really explains it well:
Entering God’s Presence through Praise
What is praise? It is adoration, thanksgiving, appreciation, and worship of our Lord and Savior. Praise flows from a relationship of love and devotion from us to the Lord. Praise brings us closer to Him. It changes us and helps us grow in our faith. Praise reminds us of who God is. (We all could use a little reminding of that.) A life filled with praise places us in a position to receive God’s blessings.
C.S. Lewis said:
Only in acts of worship and praise can a person learn to believe in the goodness and the greatness of God. God wants us to praise Him not because He needs or craves in any sense our flattery, but because He knows that praise creates joy and thankfulness.
Praise is not something that we do for God. Nor is it something that we do in order to get God’s approval so that He will grant our desires. When we praise God, we are changed—even if our circumstances are not. While God is present everywhere, all the time, He is present in a special way when His people praise Him.
Words are the expressions of our hearts. The Bible says, “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).
What happens to the person who continually complains about the problems and challenges of life?
If he only focuses on those things, he will lose sight of his eternal destiny. He may become pessimistic, even depressed. We all have tiring days, minor setbacks, and unexpected expenses. As believers, we can choose to find strength by praising God, or we may sink into despair.
Regardless of our problems or difficulties, when we praise God our focus shifts. We become aware, once again, of who He is and His love for us.
You are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel (Psalm 22:3).
I have to admit, recently I have been a hurried pray-er. I have my list of people I need to pray for, circumstances that I would like Him to take control of, and off I go getting on with my day. I do pray a lot in the car. I always fall asleep at night praying. But I haven't made the time to just sit and praise Him in between appointments.
How about you? Have you ever experienced His presence while you were praying in gratitude? We don’t have to wait for eternity to enter God’s presence. I now see that through praise we can enter His presence every minute of every day.
As we praise God, He will begin to work in our lives, conforming us to His image. Our prayer should be, “Lord, make me into the person You desire me to be.” His power will change my life and give me strength and hope for what He has called me to do.
Whatever my problems may be, there are many reasons to praise the Lord. As the verse says, through our praise that we enter His presence. There is no better place I would like to be!
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands (Psalm 63:4).
Hi Becky, and all, and thank you for including me in on this. It seems there are two subjects going here right now. Tithing, and prayer.
God has worked powerfully in my life in the last year and I have learned a lot about both of these topics and of course, and am, and always, learning.
Regarding tithing. You know how you can hear sermon after sermon about a subject and it just doesn't move ya? And then one day God takes the blinders off your eyes and you finally get it? That is what happened to me about six months ago. Our pastor preached on tithing, and I finally "got it". Now we all know that everything we own already belongs to Him. Tithing (10%) is really a suggestion of the minimum one should be giving, not the maximum and If God wanted us to give 40%, or 50 or 75 He of course should get it, as it is all His anyways. If one becomes accustomed to the idea that that "10%" doesn't even exist in our lives, don't count on it for anything, don't give into the temptation of thinking that it is yours, it it easy, and even joyfully given. And, of course, the whole intent is to learn to completely trust. Easier said than done.
I did a lot of online research at that same time and printed out articles addressing whether we are required to give it to our churches or can choose to give to other places. Yes, we are required to provide and support our local church, and to trust our Pastors, and leadership to use this money to further God's kingdom (whether it is church maintenance, mission support, or giving to needy families and indeed even our Pastors' salaries), and if we choose to give to other places that should be over and above the 10%. They did, in the articles, refer to the specific passages that indicate our tithe needs to go to support our local congregation. I struggle with this sometimes, and will admit that sometimes we do not give the whole tithe to our church. Sometimes I am compelled to hand over a bunch of money to some other very needy cause! And, I know God forgives me when I do occasionally spread the tithe around. As said, our relationship with God is very personal.
On prayer -- I have read several good books on prayer recently and have tried to be more focused in making sure I always start prayer with praise and adoration, then confess, then ask. I have a wonderful Sanctuary area in my home that has an easy chair , good lighting, table and storage ottoman, and is totally separate and quiet from the rest of the house. That has helped me immensely in spending time alone with God on a regular basis. I found it so difficult to do so at the kitchen table of in the bedroom where I was always looking at dishes in the sink or dustbunnies.....
As always, Becky, you challenge me to climb out of my comfort zone!
My prayer life has dips-n-peaks to it. I am often a "drive-by" pray-er. But, when I do take the rare occasion to spend time quietly with the Lord praising and worshipping Him, the reward is always great.
I am reminded that HE is right there waiting for me to come spend the quiet time with Him.
In all honesty, your post comes at a God-moment. I have been avoiding the Lord lately because I don't want to deal with the convictions He's laying on my heart. As if I can run from the Holy Spirit! But, thanks for jabbing me with your words and with the Scripture to stir me up to better things.
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