In The Garden
"The Gift of Giving"
Osella
Clabaugh
Read Larger Print Devotional by Clicking here
SCRIPTURE: "Bring ye all the tithes into the
storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house,
and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts,
if I will not open you the windows of heaven and
pour you out a blessing, that there shalt not be
room enough to receive it." Malachi 3:10
Every time we turn on the news these days we here
how bad the economy is. We hear that there may
be no Social Security funds in just a few years.
We hear how the stock-market is falling apart.
When we go to the store, we have to pay almost $4.00
for a gallon of milk and over $3.00 for a loaf of
bread. The price of fruit and meat is completely
outrageous. There is nothing out there that is
cheap. Today we pay as much for a car that we
paid for a nice house 20 years ago. The price
of clothes at Wal-Mart these days is the price we
would have paid at Macy's or Marshall Fields back in
the 70's. I know I do not have to say anything
about the price of gas. We all have had to cut
back on our travelling. I mean when gas
dropped to below $3.00 we were all shouting for joy.
Now it is on the way back up. Thousand of people are
being laid off every week. What happened to the land
that was rich beyond imagination.
Let me ask you are you hurting financially. Is
your cupboard bare, your gas tank empty and your
bills stacking up. Do you go to bed worried
about how you are going to keep your utilities on or
if they will be coming to foreclose on your house
this month? Are you wearing shoes with holes in
them, because you cannot afford a new pair?
Are you hoping you have enough clean clothes to make
it till pay day when you can buy some laundry soap?
I have the answer for you, actually God has the
answer for you. It is found in the last book
of the Old Testament, where God says there in
Malachi 3:10 "Bring ye all the tithes into the
storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house,
and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts,
if I will not open you the windows of heaven and
pour you out a blessing, that there shalt not be
room enough to receive it."
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa there now do not turn be off listen
to what that verse really say. It says to
bring me your tithes. WHY? That there may be
meat in mine house. If you will pay your
tithes he will supply your food, your clothes, the
money you need to pay your bills. Then God,
himself goes on to challenge us, He says "PROVE Me,
if I will not open you the windows of heaven and
pour you out a blessing," GO ON NOW God did not stop
there he says "that there shalt not be room enough
to receive it." My precious brothers and
sister in Christ, when the bills are larger than the
income you say I just can't. You are missing
out on the blessing. I promise you if you
tithe, God will take care of you.
Have you ever looked at your paycheck lately, I mean
really looked at it. The government withholds,
does not ask but automatically withholds Federal
withholding, OASDI, Medicare and State withholding,
that comes to at least 14% of your income and in
many cases up to 17% or more and what has the
government done for you, might I ask? Yet God
only asks for 10%. Think about that. God
leaves us with 90% of our income to live on.
He heals us, He provides for us, He gave his son for
us. Today do what God ask you to do, PROVE HIM
I can speak from experience if we tithe God will
meet our needs. We may not even know where it
comes from but Luke 6:38 says, "Give, and it shall
be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and
shaken together, and running over, shall men give
into your bosom. For with the same measure
that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you
again.
I am not speaking a prosperity message here. I
am just telling you what God says, if we give He
will give back, why he will even send men to give to
us. You heard the saying "take the challenge"
I am challenging you to take God's challenge -
"Tithe" and then go even one step farther, give an
offering. You will be blessed beyond measure,
I know because God not Osella nor Pastor Wayne or a
television evangelist or your pastor says it, God
says it. God bless you, let's pray.
Father you bestow so many gifts upon us, some we
take for granted, forgive us. Make us a
thankful people Lord. Now when times are hard
financially, I ask that you would bless your people
Lord. Father as we give to you, open the windows of
heaven and pour out your blessing upon us.
Lord you are standing at the window just waiting for
us to give so you can open the window and pour out
such a blessing that we cannot contain it.
Help us Lord, give us the faith we need to trust
you. In Jesus name I pray AMEN.
Take the challenge my friend.
