😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you. Sermons about tithing. We’ve all heard them and they’re probably not on our top 10 sermons wish list. But listening to a sermon on tithing this past weekend, God led me in a direction other than money. So just to clarify, according to an online dictionary, a tithe is “one tenth of annual produce or earnings, formerly taken as a tax for the support of the Church and clergy.” Let’s think about this…one tenth of your produce for the support of the Church.
So, what is my produce? My relationship with my spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, friends, coworkers, random encounters. My work, play, learning, teaching. My alone time, rest, and prayers. God offers us all these opportunities to flourish and produce. Now, what if I took just a tenth (a tithe) of my efforts in these forms of produce and gave it in support of the Church? How would my marriage change if I intentionally focused a tithe of my thoughts and actions on bringing Christ into our relationship? How would my attitude and quality of work be if I intentionally tithed Christ into my job? How would my alone time change and grow me if I tithed my thoughts on Him? How much more rest would I actually get if I tithed it to the Father? How much more would the Spirit lead me if I tithed my prayers for the Lord’s Will instead of my own? Can you imagine the freedom, peace, and joy you would experience, if you would only tithe? I know, 10% could be a big leap of faith and may seem out of reach. Don’t worry, you can work on this one step at a time. Even if you started from zero today and added 1% a month to your tithe. By the end of August next year, you will be offering a tithe and thriving. Bless others and be blessed.
#JeremyCamp – Here I Am
Third Day Devotions 