Prompted By The Heart

King David wants to build a temple for the Lord in his new capital city of Jerusalem. But the Lord tells him it will instead be his son, Solomon, who will do the honors. That doesn't stop David from collecting all the gold, silver, bronze, iron, marble, precious stones and wood he can get in preparation of the building. He even digs into his own "personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God" (1 Chronicles 29:3). He was making an offering. Then he says to the Israelites, "Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the Lord?" (1 Chronicles 29:5). At t his point, the leaders of the families, officers and commanders of the king's army and officials that worked for the king, all stepped forward and made their offering likewise of gold, silver, bronze, iron and precious stones. 1 Chronicles 29:9 says, "The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly."

There is another time when the Israelites dug deep in their offering for a building project. Back in Exodus when Moses was putting together plans for the tabernacle (a portable temple of the Lord), God told Moses, "You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give" (Exodus 25:2). We learn in Exodus 36 that the people went above and beyond in their offerings, so much so that the people were eventually told to restrain from bringing more, "because what they already had more than enough to do all the work" (vs. 7).

Scripture says "everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the Lord" (Exodus 35:21). We are asked by God to give an offering. Matter of fact, in Malachi 3 we are told to give 10 percent. We talked about this last year on Nov. 7 in this blog. We told you about how blessed you will be if you give. But notice the key point here ... the condition of the heart. Is the heart prompted? Is the heart willing? We learn from Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, "The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully, will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." God wants us to give with joy back to the One who does likewise. If giving to the Lord is done reluctantly, how sincere is this gift? King David tells his son, Solomon, in 1 Chronicles 28:9, "the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts" and later reaffirms that statement when he sees the amazing response of the offering of the Israelites by saying, "I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willignly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you" (1 Chronicles 29:17).

We expect our children to give 10 percent of everything they earn to the Lord for the growth of His kingdom, but we want it to be given willingly, with joy to the Almighty. To reap bountifully, you must sow bountifully. We want to see you reap bountifully!

So check your heart. Are you giving with a cheerful heart? Are you giving at all? All that we have is His and He gives it to us in abundance. Praying you are doing abundantly the same.

Discussion: Do you give an offering? Do you think 10 percent is important? Do you find it hard to give out of what you earn? Would you be willing to test the Lord in giving (see Malachi 3:10)?

Prayer: Lord God we are humbled by everything you graciously give to us. Inspire us, Father, to give a portion back to you so that your kingdom can grow and your children be cared for. We know You are faithful. We pray our hearts are cheerful in giving as you do. In Jesus Christ who gave His all, Amen.

A Penny For Every Dime

Usually during this time of year, you will hear a lot of churches do their stewardship campaigns. They know at the end of the year they will be doing their church budgets, so need to know roughly what they will have coming in.

It is not my favorite time of year from a congregant standpoint, because we will sit through at least one, sometimes four, or even eight, sermons on giving. If you've never been in a church before it can come off pressuring. If you have been in the church a long time, it can sound like repeated nagging,especially if you're a regular giver. But it is necessary, as the congregation needs reminded, like in every other sermon series, what is required of us as Christians. Plus, the church lights don't turn themselves on, Sunday School supplies cost money and the pastor's services are not free. Having looked at it from a staff member's perspective more recently, it sure is helpful to know what baseline amount your department will have to accomplish much for God's glory in the new year.

Quite often during this time, you'll hear pastors quote Malachi 3:10, which says: "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 there will not be room enough to store it."

Tithing is 10 percent. Ten percent of your gross earnings - even your time and talent. The above Bible verse reminds believers that everything we have came from and belongs to our Lord. By His mercy, we keep 90 percent of it. All He asks for is 10 percent. 

It has been asked of us since the beginning of time. And it's not the last of what you earn or what is left over, but rather the first. I have been tithing since I babysat as a teenager. Once you get in that habit it becomes quite easy. But when we married, Brad didn't come from that same perspective, so tithing came far later for us as a couple. And it was the above verse, repeated year after year, that became our inspiration to do so. We wanted to see if that challenge was for real. Would the Father truly throw open the floodgates of  heaven and pour out blessings on us?

The answer was a resounding yes. If only we had given as required earlier. It seems like everytime we give 10 percent, we get 20 percent back in some way. How that's possible, I don't know, but it happens all the time. 

You both will need to decide together what you plan on giving to the church, charities and the like. We do recommend at least 10 percent, because we know what a blessing it is not just to the church, but to yourselves. It truly is miraculous. And if you get in the habit now, it is far easier. Gross or net is always the debate, but as a friend once asked me, "Do you want gross blessings or net blessings?"

I attended a sermon by J. Elsworth Kalas on January of this year where he spoke on "A Gift Worth Giving." (He is the former president and current professor at Asbury Theological Seminary. His son, David, was a former pastor of ours in Appleton, WI). He said something I immediately wrote down, and stumbled across yesterday morning as I was cleaning my desk. I'd written it on the back of the church bulletin for this revival service. He said this: "I am giving less than I used to because I gave a penny for every dime when I had one pair of shoes. Now I'm giving 20 percent, and I have three pairs of shoes. How is this fair?" He was commenting that proportionally, he has been blessed abundantly.

God has given us everything. And He gives us more and more all the time. Something else Kalas said: "There is only one thing God gave us that he didn't have more of and that was His Son." And Christ gave us His all.

Pray about your giving. Ask the Father what you should give together of your income, time and talents. You will have hard times financially. But we are asked to bring that offering in plenty and in want, trusting God has us covered. That challenge above in Malachi is the only challenge God offered us as His children. Take Him up on it and see what happens. 

Discussion: Do you tithe? If not, would it be a difficult jump to do so? Where are other areas you like to financially contribute? What are ways you give of your time to church? How are you using your talents to God's glory?

Prayer: Father, knowing that we eat, pay our bills and enjoy our entertainment with what we earn, it can be daunting to give any portion of it. We pray, Father for guidance in our offerings, that they first of all be acceptable to You, but that we give as You require, cheerfully. Bless us Lord that we may be a blessing to your children. In Jesus name, Amen.