Marked by God

More on Giving.....

This is probably the shortest.... and will EVER be the shortest blog from me!  I have finished the book "The Blessed Life" and all I can say is WOW!!!

I think one sentence stood out to me more than any other in the book. 

"You reap what you SOW....not what you KEEP"

So simple, yet so powerful.  It is more than just about tithing and giving money.  It is all about giving of yourself, of your life, of your talents, of your soul.  You can't harvest what you have never planted.

Receiving God's blessing

We are heading into a money series at my church.  It comes at a great time on many levels.  Yes, it has a lot to do with tithing, as it should.  But the principle behind the tithe has little to do with money and so much to do with our faith and priorities when it comes to God.  I know that people don't want to hear about how they should be tithing...because it hits home on such a personal level.  As my pastor puts it so very well...it is one of the biggest obstacles between walking under a curse or walking in the blessings of God.

My pastor did an awesome job yesterday introducing the concept.  He recommended a book called "The Blessed Life" by Robert Morris.  I started it yesterday and I am halfway through the book.  I can not put it down.  It highly recommend this book.  It is more than just about tithing to God.  It is about learning to have the heart of giving.  Learning about trusting God for your every need in life, and believing He will take care of you.

Honestly, I have been a opportunistic tither for years.  I have tithed even when the money wasn't there to pay bills, and somehow... those bills were always paid.  I would stop tithing when I didn't have money to pay bills.... but I didn't have money to pay the bills because I would continue to "charge" THINGS THAT I DID NOT NEED.  It was me and my love of stuff that kept me from paying my bills....not the tithing.  I can speak truth to the blessings you receive when you tithe and put God first as a priority in your life.  When you value Him before you do the car, the house, and the fancy things in life.

Most people give testimony to the fact that once they started tithing, they had money where it shouldn't have been and that they paid debt down, etc.  Yes, that happened to me too.  But being abundantly blessed does not always mean that God is going to bless you in the way of money.  I wanted to share a story with you.

My sister has been through a tremendous change for the better.  She has found her way back to God and is working so hard for every little thing she has.  She had a car that finally just gave out on her.  She had to depend on different people for rides to work...sometimes having to get to work 6 hours before her shift because it was the only ride she could get.  I was buying another car and was really excited about this.  I had it all planned out and I was going to trade my car in to help out with the price of the new one.  My sister never asked me to help her with her dilemma, but I was sitting there one night (not even thinking about her or her situation) and felt so strongly and so surely in my heart...."You have to give the car to your sister".  Okay, so... I am thinking at this point... "yeah right...and have to pay more money a month on a care payment...NOT!"  But, that command just kept replaying over and over in my head.  I knew that wasn't me.  I knew that was God.  I let God know that I was scared to give my car to her and leave myself with possibly not being able to afford a car.  But I also let God know that I was going to trust Him and obey.  I did give her my car and so many wonderful things happened after that.  She now can go to church, work hours that are convenient, she moved to a wonderful place and we have grown very close.  A friend of mine ended up selling me his newer car for a WONDERFUL, AND AFFORDABLE price.

I gave because I trusted God.  It may have financially hurt me, but I had to take the risk.  I am glad I did.  Seeing the joy in my sister when I gave her that car was something that is priceless to me.  She came over yesterday and cooked my husband and I a 5 course meal (she was cooking for 4 hours) and served us at our table.  It was in that moment that I received the biggest blessing I have ever received from her.  She gave of herself, her heart and her love. She did not have money to give me, and I would not want it if she did.  It was as if God was saying to me.. " this is only a taste of how I will bless your life if you follow me and don't hold back out of fear."

Today, I am no longer an opportunistic tither.  I am happy to give God what is already His.  I believe Him for redeeming the rest.  I will not be an opportunistic giver either.  I will give and go where God tells me.  What about you?

Background

In starting my reading for I Corinthians, I decided to read up on the background of the people of Corinth and how Paul was involved.

I Corinthians is a letter that Paul wrote the church of Corinth in response to concerns of a corrupt society and a divided church body.  The purpose of the letter was to identify problems in the Corinthian Church and to offer solutions and teachings on how to live a Christian life in a corrupt society.  Corinth was a major cosmopolitan city.  It was a huge trade center and the most important city in Achaia (Greece).  The church in Corinth was established during Paul's second mission trip.

The Christians in Corinth were struggling to adapt to their environment and they FELT the pressure to adapt to a lifestyle that wasn't good or healthy.  

1.  Think of a situation(s) when you, as a Christian have struggled with people or circumstances in your environment and have felt pressure to adapt... or put aside what you know to be right.  2.  What action did you take?  3. What was the response?

Here is another thought:  Are there times when it is good to blend in?  Are there times it is not so good to blend in?  

See, God created us for the purpose of standing out and NOT blending in.  If we did and said everything that non-Christians did....How would we ever be of any use to God?  We are much like chameleons.  We have the ability to adapt to our surroundings, but in doing so... we begin to take on the characteristics of our environment.  We become COMPLETELY INVISIBLE.

Corinthians?

I have had a great summer so far.  I haven't blogged in over a month, but my family and I have been traveling and vacationing.  My husband and I went to Jamaica for our anniversary and then our whole family went to Orlando, FL.  It has been nice taking a break from schools, sports, etc. 

I have been doing some soul searching lately.  In the last two years, there have been many negative and sorrowful things that have surrounded me.  I have been in this amazingly strong and growing season of faith for about three years now.  One thing that has always been a really difficult issue for me is I tend to take on so much of everyone's emotions.  I have had so many friends, family, co-workers, church family members, that have been going through so many things... I felt I started to become all consumed by people's emotions, actions, an reactions to these negative events.  It came to a point where I had to let some people drift away, because it was physically and emotionally pulling me down.  I truly believe that I have a tremendous gift from God, but that I just do not know how to use and harness it.  I am able to feel and sense so many things when it comes to people and what they feel.  The realization that I came to is that I have never asked God to use my gifts for His purposes.  I haven't asked God to teach me how to handle all the things that are going on around me without me losing faith in the process. 

So, as I am talking with God one night about these things, I decided I wanted to do my own study of a book in the Bible.  Not one of the prepared, fill in the blank studies that I always do.  I mean, reading the book in the Bible myself and finding the answers God leads me too.  For whatever reason, I turned to I Corinthians and I just felt like this is where I would start.

So, feel free to take this walk through I Corinthians with me.  God's Word was relevant then, to the sinners and faithful alike, just as it is now.