THE LIGHTHOUSE... GIVING...TITHING... BLESSING... BLESSED...

MEDITATION MONDAY

Our scripture of the month has me thinking about Jesus... THE WORD... THE LIFE... THE LIGHT... Yesterday, I was challenged, once again, at what a big part giving is of being THE LIGHT and giving LIFE...
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Yesterday, our Sunday sermon was thought provoking in both an encouraging and challenging way. Brian led singing and said, the song choices were to encourage us to think about "the heart of the matter, like Steve Sikes has been teaching us to do in his lessons." Brian's comment/song choices made me also think of French missionary, Craig Young's, powerful lesson last week, when he talked about the Prime Minister of France saying that the French soccer team's problems were not about soccer, but issues of the heart.
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Dan asked a series of questions at the beginning of his lesson. As I have witnessed many times before - a child from the audience answered! Thank you, Mason, for your transparent heart. Dan asked, "Have you ever taken something that wasn't yours?" Quickly, clearly, and loudly Mason, answered, "Yes!" Many people followed with the same response.
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Dan said that the prophet Malachi was concerned about God's people because they had the same problem. In fact, these people had some issues with their hearts... they were selfish, coveteous, and idolatrous. Malachi told them that the LORD said to return His things! Of course, the people said, "How shall we return to You?"
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Here is the conversation, straight from scripture,
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Malachi 3:6-12

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"I the LORD do not change.

So you, O descendants of Jacob,

are not destroyed.

Ever since the time of your forefathers

you have turned away from my decrees

and have not kept them.

Return to me, and I will return to you,"

says the LORD Almighty.

"But you ask, 'How are we to return?'
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Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.

But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'

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"In tithes and offerings.

You are under a curse

-the whole nation of you-

because you are robbing me.

Bring the whole tithe 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.

I will prevent pests from devouring your crops,

and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,"

says the LORD Almighty.

"Then all the nations will call you blessed,

for yours will be a delightful land,"

says the LORD Almighty. "

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After reading through this, I had trouble writing fast enough to keep up with Dan, but here are some of the things he shared in abbreviated fashion:

• Tithing was an Old Testament rule to give the LORD 10% of the income of everything we make... give it first... give it off the top...
• Tithing in the Old Testament is a test of faith to help God's people grow in relationship with Christ, trusting Him and believing that He will do what He says He will do
• Tithing is a crucial part of a faith journey. Giving is between me and God and can define my faith walk with Him.
• One in every eight verses in the Bible, in some shape or form, talks about money
• Martin Luther said that there are 3 types of conversions: 1. THE MIND; 2. THE HEART; 3. THE WALLET . He said that he felt the most difficult conversion to be the wallet.
• A christian is someone who is content to live on the leftovers.
• Jesus assumed the old law was the rock bottom expectation for a new way of living... a new covenant... Thou shall not murder to do not even hate... Thou shall not commit adultery to do not even lust... Thou shall have no other gods before me and thou shall not covet to...

• Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you.
• Luke 16:11-12 "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?
• Heb 13:5 Let your character be free from the love of money...

Dan emphasized that the word of God, teaches us that TITHING IS EVIDENCE OF...

1. A growing faith
2. God's ownership of my life
3. God can now trust me with more
4. Me keeping focused on others
5. Me helping celebrate that I love God more than I love anything else (God calls coveteousness idolatry!)

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Remember the verses in Malachi above? Tithe and God will open the "floodgates of heaven"! Dan ask us to consider this and what that meant. I could not help but focus on something else in those verses: Blessing... Blessed... In fact, if you go back up and read that scripture, you'll notice what I put in BOLD:

1. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse,
2. See if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven
   and pour out so much blessing
3. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

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• A LIFE FULL OF BLESSING?

TITHE!

• A LIGHT TO THE NATIONS?

TITHE!

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