Genesis 28: 10-22
Thought for the Day: "And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to you." (Genesis 28: 22)
Several months ago I started a word study on stones. Today's devotional reading led me to the act of giving - the tithe. I was amazed the the two came together in this verse, which shows Jacob's commitment to God, acknowledging His supremacy to all he has now and will have in the future. The tithe is an expression of extreme gratitude.
I was thinking the other day how easy it is for money that comes into our hands to sift through so quickly. We strive to be obedient to our holy Father, in the giving of our tithes, and we are doing fine we think, when all of a sudden wham! an obstacle comes along and our faith gets derailed. We think we have it all figured out when we're really a long ways from doing so.
Our tithe - the top tenth of our best goes to the Lord to express our extreme gratitude for all He has done and continues to do for us. The tithe is not about money - not how much or how little we give. It is not about duty. God doesn't care about any of that. God looks at our heart, not our handout, He looks at us, the person, the giver, not the gift.
Think about what Jesus says in Matthew 23: 23, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith."
Jesus died to give us life. We are so richly blessed. Are we grateful? What do we do, what do we give to show our gratitude? Remember, its our heart God cares about, our motives.
Prayer: Dear Lord, Please forgive me for falling off track and allowing fear to come between us. I know fear does not come from you, but from Satan. It is not your will for me to become derailed and lose sight of your promises, your truths. Help me Lord to get back on track, to not become ungrateful, unfruitful, stagnant, dead. In your precious name I pray. Amen.
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