Many people believe in God, but have a problem with tithing. IIf you look around the church you will see some sitting in the pews pull out a $5 or a $10, some will pull out a $1 bill.
I am very grateful for these people because that tells me they are willing to give an offering to God. They recognize His word which they were probably taught when they were little.
When my sister and I were little girls, every Sunday morning he would have us hold out our hands and he would say, "This dime is for you to tithe to the Lord. (That would go in our right hand.) In this hand, (meaning the left) he would put another dime. This is the dime you will pay yourself. And the eight dimes left you will use for things you want to do this week."
He explained periodically that if we obey God's word and tithe he would always provide our needs.
This was every Sunday. As we grew older the amounts became a little larger until one day we were grown.
For a few years I forgot some of the things he said, and that was one of them. But one day, after I was reading my Bible, I read the verse in Malachi 3:10. This verse in the King James Version of the Bible says, "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 shall not be room enough to receive it."
The Hebrew word for tithe is ma'aser, which literally translates to "a tenth part" or "ten percent".
Deuteronomy 14:22: "Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year."
By tithing, we do several things. One, we obey God. Two, we put our focus on God. Three, we trust God to do as His word says.
What did He say He would do if we tithe? He would open the windows of heaven for us, and pour out a blessing, that there would not be room enough to receive it.
This isn't just matieral gifts such as money, providing our needs, but it gives us inner peace and favor from God.
I have been doing this for years now. I can tell you my grandfather was right, so is God's word.
It wasn't easy at first. Most of my months I didn't have much left over. But I started giving as much as I could at first, gradually I was able to give more until eventually I was giving 10 % off the top, that means gross. Then I would give my self 10% and put it in savings, somehow God provided what I needed each month.
Bless be to the Glory of God!

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