Pay attention!
If you are not a Christian, this entry is not for you. If you don't believe in God's laws, commands, love and grace, this post is not for you. If you have no or little hunger to grow closer to our Savior, Creator and Comforter, then this is certainly not for you.
If you continue to read, I ask that you read this entry in it's entirety, and read it with an open mind.
Even before getting saved and living for Jesus, I believed in tithing. It's a no brainer. Even non-Christians give over 10% of their income to some form of charity. Look at Hollywood. They all give. They give to a "charity", but we can't give what God trusts us with back to Him? It's saddening to me. Ok, so I've done several posts about tithing, giving and especially about my church's (Celebration Church) Imagine Campaign.
Here is something I have found interesting and want to share. Pay attention and follow me:
The Scripture makes it clear who Satan is and his purpose. Would we all agree?
John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
The thief is Satan. The devil. The enemy. Yes?
1 Peter 5:8 (NLT) Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.
The book of Daniel also has many many references to this.
In other words, another name for Satan is the devourer. On the same page still?
Satan is the devourer. His primary goal is to destroy anything about us, because we are God's people. His love. His creation. His children. His heart. I believe whole heartedly that Satan is stronger than us. My main source of believing this is from Jude 1:9 which states: Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said "The Lord rebuke you!". My personal belief is that Satan is so cunning, so strong and so vicious that Michael did not want to battle him, and just wanted to keep it moving. Regardless of your belief, how do we fight off Satan? How do we fight off demons, evil spirits and the attack of the enemy? HOW? Is it prayer?
I believe prayer is a vital role in everything we do, but I believe we fight off the enemy by tithing and giving. I know, I know, most of you probably think I'm a nut case. But, pay attention. PAY ATTENTION! The Scripture makes it very very clear. After reading this, if you are not giving, then you cannot say you didn't know. Here is a sure way to fight off the enemy.
We have all seen the first verse preached on over and over. Please, please and please pay attention to the second verse.
Malachi 3:10-11 NASB
10) "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test 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 a blessing until it overflows".
11) "THEN I WILL REBUKE THE DEVOURER FOR YOU, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes", says the Lord of hosts.
I could go on and on what I feel our vine is, and fruits of the ground and we could unpack these 2 verses for weeks. But, let's keep it simple. GIVE TO GOD TO FIGHT OFF SATAN!
I have so much more I want to share about giving, but I'll end it at this. I pray that everyone that reads this becomes great givers, starting with tithing and then to additional offerings, in the name of JESUS!
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