I have longed for this day!! My first paycheque from my new job was more than I expected, for a short pay period. My first full paycheque will be more than I’ve ever earned before. This job is a miracle!! It’s timing, projected duration, the tasks required of me, the office location, the people I work with, and the salary are all elements of this ABSOLUTE MIRACLE!! This opportunity is a blessing / challenge from God. I’m sure He wants to know,”So, what are you gonna do with it ?” I’m sure that if I flip the question back to Him, He will answer. In the meantime, I am full of praise and thanks.
I was so relieved to be able to pay some bills that’d been hanging over my head for a few weeks. I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I earn that I bought a round of donuts for the office—about $14 worth. Then I thought about tithing… again. For the first time that I can recall, what Christ intends for His followers stared me full in the face. I was so JOYOUS and GRATEFUL that I wanted to SHARE my ‘good fortune’ with others. I plan to send flowers to the two people who were instrumental in me acquiring this employment. So
why not send God some flowers ? Why not express my thanks to Him ? Makes sense ! FINALLY !! Armed with that perspective, tithing is now something I can get behind. Quickly my seasoned eyes see beyond the
feeling of joyfully thanking God to the resolve of
obeying the principle of thanking “He who supplies the abundance”. When I ask myself "how much should I spend on the flowers, as gifts ?" my budget comes into sharp focus. “10%” is the MINIMUM answer the Bible provides to the question "how much should I thank God ?". As always, it seems like a lot until I think about how much I am willing to spend on myself— after my needs and responsibilities are met. I read Nehemiah 12 yesterday and it speaks to the thought that God doesn’t need my gifts of gratitude. Nehemiah chapter 12 is a call to play my role in replenishing the storehouses of my place of worship— Centre Street Church. It’s a church community that God led me to where I fulfill a role God has clarified to me in precise detail— as a DiscipleMaker.
The kicker is to tell others. Matthew 10:32 tells us--
Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. I ask God for the courage to let others know exactly what I’ve spelled out here today. I need Him for that, as I need Him to do anything of eternal significance. I am not nothing without Him because, at the very least I am made in His image. But I can do nothing without Him who strengthens me. That is the ultimate throttling of my pride—to acknowledge that I need God to help me with everything. You’d think I could reasonably have faith in myself to tie my shoes, right? It is God who decides how many seconds I will be on this earth. Without the BREATHE of LIFE and GREAT HEALTH that God blesses me with I cannot even tie my own shoelace. Quips and quotes from ancient sages are all well & good. But I must tell others
what I believe.
