#56 Tithing

There are two parts to this faithful endeavors. The first is the classic tithing. Everything you own, technically is God's.  You are just blessed to have them.  So when He asked people to tithe, to return ten percent of the income, it's not because He is poor and need that ten percent, it was to our benefits that we be accountable and grow deeper and stronger faith in Him.  One particular book you will enjoy reading related to this issue is a biography of Pavel Goia, "One Miracle After Another."

The second is what some people refer to as "offering."  There is really no specific amount here, but some people recommended the second ten percent be classified as the offering.  Say you make $100 today.  $10 goes toward the first tithe which is given to the church.  The second $10 is the offering, which we often use toward charities, relief organizations like ADRA or United Way, as well as to help certain people that you know of (relatives, neighbors, homeless persons, etc.).

Tithes are returned while offerings are given. Offerings are our response of love and gratitude to God’s blessings and goodness. 

Malachi 3:10-"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 (NIV).

#50 Write 3 Things You Are Grateful For

...at the beginning of each day and at the end of each day.  During the few days before Thanksgiving, your dad had a conversation with someone who said that she had nothing to be thankful about and went on about her supposedly awful life.  

As parents, we love to buy and give things to our children.  It is a priceless joy to see the excitement in the eyes of your kids when they receive the gifts.  The experience encourages the giver to want to continually give more gifts to experience the priceless joy over and over again.  It is however a disappointing experience to give gifts when the recipients are not excited when opening and accepting the gifts.


How would you expect to receive more greater blessings in your life if you don't know how to be thankful of the other "little blessings" such as having a place to call home, having parents or siblings who are still alive, having vehicles that are running well, having a good health, having clothes to wear, having a job, waking up to see another day, having a friend, having the ability to see, hear, taste, touch, walk on both legs, and the list goes on and on.  The good news is God is love and like the lyric on JJ Heller's song:  God "loves you for you, not for what you have done or what you will become."

Three things you are grateful for...when you begin your day and when the ends.  When you appreciate all the "little" miracles, you will live your life in a more positive, upbeat, optimistic way.  The famous Albert Einstein wrote, “There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”