| Today's Word June 25, 2009 |
|
| |
Today's Word for Thursday June 25, 2009 Tithing
Defined by Webster:
The tenth part of goods; to give or pay tithes on such as income.
|
"You shall tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year." "Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first fruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will over flow with new wine."
Proverbs 3:9-10.
|
 |
This is one of the most significant WORDS that we can talk about. Tithing is an important part of serving and honoring the Lord. It is a way of demonstrating that we put God first in our lives.
The Israelites were instructed by God through Moses to give God the first and best portions of their harvest and the best of their flocks to the Lord. It was a reminder to them that everything they had belonged to God.
Since we were children our parents taught us the importance of tithing. Tithing is the giving of the first tenth of all the income one receives before he spends it on anything else. We can remember the cup and/or glass that sat on a table for us to put even our few pennies from our allowance in each week. My [Dottie's] mother taught her three girls early on that if we received 10 pennies we should give the Lord the shiniest one signifying that we were giving our best to the Lord. It was a different day then, our allowance was in pennies. This training helped us realize the importance of tithing as we got older.
If a tenth seems a lot, then remember two very important things. First, all we have belongs to God. Secondly, we can not out give God. We have found that the more we give the more God blesses us. We challenge you to tithe if you do not now. We could give you hundreds of examples of how God has blest others just as he has blest us. We learned to tithe when it really hurt. We learned to give a tithe when we had to cut back on the food budget. But every time when we needed help or came to a crises God provided far and beyond our need.
|
 |
Teach me today to tithe of all that You have blest me with. Thank you, dear Lord for providing for me and my family in such a marvelous way. We honor you and thank you for being our God, our Lord and our Savior.
|
Your Friends, Ken and Dottie Phillips
"Today's Word" is sent to you free to encourage you to commit today to serve and honor God as a family.
These Family Devotional Thoughts are written by Dr.Ken Phillips, ministry director for World Bible Society, and his wife Dottie. Ken has had ministry positions with The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, World Vision, Youth For Christ, World Opportunities International, and World Bible Society. He also has consulted for more than 20 Christian ministries in management and stewardship development. Ken and Dottie have been married for 52 years, and have 6 children and 21 grandchildren. Come back regularly to enjoy their Family Devotional as they share their thoughts about living in God's Word!
|
|
| | | | | | Quick Links... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
|
1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. |
|