Tithing or Giving Maybe you are asking why I am doing a subject on tithing. Well, I think that tithing is a very important part in the life of a Christian. You see, many people are afraid to give their money to the Lord. They can’t let go of it! It was really hard for me to start to tithe, but after I started doing it the Lord blessed me with more money, and so I gave more and more. A lot of people don’t realize that if they give back to the Lord what is already His then they will get back what they give and more. (My thought: But your heart shouldn’t give just to get more money. You should give because you want to.) You know what? The Lord practically dares us to give Him money. He is like… “If you give me two dollars today, then I will give you five dollars extra when you get your report card.” That is the way I see God. I know that He has always blessed me for giving to Him. I just hope that these verses will encourage you to give or to give more to the Lord. But remember! Give with your heart! It’s all where the heart is. God knows where your heart is, and if it is in the wrong place then He will not bless you. God doesn't always bless you with money when you give Him money. He blesses you with happiness and peace sometimes. Don't focus on what you will get out of giving, but focus on what the purpose you are giving is for. Think right, and all else will work out. Verses on ten percent: Deuteronomy 14:22-23 is: 22 People of Israel, every year you must set aside ten percent of your grain harvest. 23 … This will teach you to always respect the Lord your God. (My thought: Giving teaches you to respect the Lord!) Malachi 3:10 is: I am the Lord All-Powerful, and I challenge you to put me to the test. Bring the entire ten percent into the storehouse, so there will be food in my house. Then I will open the windows of heaven and flood you with blessing after blessing. Luke 21:1-4 is: 1 Jesus looked up and saw some rich people tossing their gifts into the offering box. 2 He also saw a poor widow putting in two pennies. 3 And he said, “I tell you that this poor woman has put in more than all the others. 4 Everyone else gave what they didn’t need. But she is very poor and gave everything she had.” (My thought: This is a great example of where the heart should be in giving. It shows how important the heart shares.) Exodus 22:29 is: Don’t fail to give me the offerings of grain and wine that belong to me. Exodus 23:19 is: Each year bring the best part of your first harvest to the place of worship. 1 Chronicles 29:6 is: After David finished speaking, the family leaders, the tribal leaders, the army commanders, and the government officials voluntarily gave gifts (My thought: Notice that they voluntarily gave them. They wanted to give them.) 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 is: 10 God gives seed to farmers and provides everyone with food. He will increase what you have, so that you can give even more to those in need. 11 You will be blessed in every way, and you will be able to keep on being generous. Then many people will thank God when we deliver your gift. (My thought: God will provide you with what you need. You just have to step out on faith! Trust in Him.) Proverbs 3:9-10 is: 9 Honor the Lord by giving him your money and the first part of all your crops. 10 Then you will have more grain and grapes than you will ever need. (My thought: One reason you give is to honor the Lord. Giving is honoring God.) 1 Corinthians 16:2 is: That is, each Sunday each of you must put aside part of what you have earned. If you do this, you won’t have to take up a collection when I come. 2 Corinthians 9:7-8 is: 7 Each of you must make up your own mind about how much to give. But don’t feel sorry that you must give and don’t feel that you are forced to give. God loves people who love to give. 8 God can bless you with everything you need, and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others. (My thought: You are to decide how much you want to give to the Lord. Whether it be fifty cents or ten dollars, each Sunday, you are the one to decide. I am not trying to force you to give or make you feel bad if you are not giving. I am just trying to let you know, if you don’t know already, the blessings of giving.) 2 Corinthians 8:12 is: It doesn’t matter how much you have. What matters is how much you are willing to give from what you have. (My thought: That is self-explanatory.) Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 is: 1 Be generous, and someday you will be rewarded. 2 Share what you have with seven or eight others, because you never know when disaster may strike.(My thought: Can one of those seven or eight people be God?) 1 Chronicles 29:6-9 and 14 is: 6 After David finished speaking, the family leaders, the tribal leaders, the army commanders, and the government officials voluntarily gave gifts 7 for the temple. These gifts included almost two hundred tons of gold, three hundred eighty tons of iron. 8 Everyone who owned precious stones also donated them to the temple treasury, where Jehiel from the Levite clan of Gershon guarded them. 9 David and the people were very happy that so much had been given to the Lord, and they all celebrated. 14 But why should we be happy that we have given you these gifts? They belong to you, and we have only given back what is already yours. If they gave all of this, then can you give a quarter, 25 cents, to church next Sunday? That is what I challenge you to do! A single quarter next Sunday, that’s all. Give that quarter to the Lord with all of your heart, and say Lord, I do this to honor You. He will take that quarter gladly if you really mean it. Try to make it a habit of giving, each Sunday. Maybe you will feel to be led to giving two quarters, a dollar, maybe even two dollars. Then watch out! God is going to bless your pants off! Just wait and see! This is a true story: A boy gave five dollars to his church. Later that week he got twenty dollars. He knew it was only from the Lord. He then decided to later give five more dollars. Later on that week the Lord blesses him with forty dollars! This boy is really doing great financially, and keeps giving to the Lord. So far the Lord has blessed him more than he can give!