GOD POURS OUT BLESSINGS. Everything we need is right at our hands. God has promised to be our provider and protector. Why then does it seem that so many are lacking?

We are living in very challenging and stressful times in which possession, money, and wealth matter to all. However, if not careful, the pursuit of wealth will pull us away from what really matters, which is our relationship with God and one another. 

Satan uses the things of this world to tempt and lure us to him. However, the Word of God provides us with the guidance needed to avoid his trap.

In the Bible, God has provided us with practical guidance on how to live above the stresses of life, and we are given instructions on how to manage the resources He has given us.

In this series, from a biblical perspective, we will look at how to manage effectively the resources God has given us while prioritizing What Really Matters. 

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Asking For God’s Guidance

Holy Father, We thank you for the many blessing you give us. Teach us how to use them for Your honor and glory and not just for our selfish wants. In Jesus Name Amen

God has asked us to put him to the test, to try him. He tells us in Malachi 3:10, That when we try Him, he will pour us out blessings that we will not have enough room to receive it.

“ ‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it’ ” (Malachi 3:10, NKJV).

The Message of Malachi is not limited to the Hebrews or the people of Malachi’s time. This message is for the people of God in every generation.

In fact, “The Lord has given His people a message for this time. It is presented in the third chapter of Malachi. How could the Lord present His requirements in a clearer or more forcible manner than He has done in this chapter?

All should remember that God’s claims upon us underlie every other claim. He gives to us bountifully, and the contract which He has made with man is that a tenth of his possessions shall be returned to God. The Lord graciously entrusts to His stewards His treasures, but of the tenth, He says: This is Mine. Just in proportion as God has given His property to man, so man is to return to God a faithful tithe of all his substance. This distinct arrangement was made by Jesus Christ Himself.—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 384. (Split)

IN GENESIS 14, we find Abram returning from a hostage rescue mission in which he saves his nephew Lot, Lot’s family, and the King of Sodom from the Army of Four Kings. The four kings had taken these people hostage from the city of Sodom and four other cities. But Abram rescues them. The King of Sodom was especially grateful for what Abram had done, he invited Abram to take all the riches that the four kings had taken from Sodom in battle. But Abram refuses to accept the Kings offer.

A significant point here is that Abram, not only refuses to accept the King’s offer, but he also gives Melchizedek a tithe of everything he owned. (Split)

Following Abram’s gesture of giving 10% of his possessions to Melchizedek, we find in Genesis 15:1 that God comes to him.

1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” (Genesis 15:1)

In other words, the Lord was telling Abram, “You do not have to worry because I am always going to be your protector and provider.”  

In Deuteronomy 14:22-23 we find that before Israel was about to enter the Promise Land, Moses commanded Israel saying:

22 “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.

23 And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. (Deuteronomy 14:22, 23).

Ellen White, an inspired writer, wrote “Men were required to offer to God gifts for religious purposes before the definite system was given to Moses, even as far back as the days of Adam.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 393.

This we saw in the case of Abram when he gave one-tenth of his possessions to Melchizedek.

So, what is a tithe, it consists of 10% of our increase. An increase is that which is added to what we already have. For instance, if you receive $100.00, God requires that you return $10.00 to him to be used for his purpose.

For many, the question is, does God expect us today to return 10% of our income to him? And if so, how do we return it? Find out more in Day 2: Tithe Equals a Tenth

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