God provides

Matt finished preaching a series on tithing about a month ago. It was only for a few weeks, but we have found that a lot of Christians don't understand what the Bible has to say about tithing. Anyway... we have had some very hard times financially the past 6 months or so. And although we continued tithing - it was half - hearted. We would fall behind for a few months, then try to catch up, etc. And when we did give - it really wasn't with the right attitude. Well after hearing Matt preach on tithing, I was reminded that we should give our "firsts" our best. So I made a decision to pay our tithe at the begining of the month, the "first" and make sure that I gave all that we were supposed to. And the biggest thing was - I wanted to. God has blessed us SOOOO much!! I want to give Him what belongs to him anyway, because I love Him, and I know that He knows what is best for us, and I trust Him with all that we have - because He gave us all that we have.

So, the first Sun. in Feb. we paid our tithe for the entire month (some of our income is paid on a monthly basis, so we try to pay most of our bills once a month). When we filed our income tax the next week, we got back much more than we thought we would. We used all of it to pay off bills. In a further commitment to honor God with our $$ we cut up ALL of our credit cards and closed the accts. Matt took out a student loan for his Masters degree he is working on, and we were able to use some of that to pay off some bills and free up some extra $$ each month as well. Then, for our anniversary our church gave us a gift card to go out to eat. And finally, the kids were needing some clothes. Because I had cut up my Old Navy credit card, I went to the local thrift store and spent about 2 hours looking for nice clothes in good condition, and for $93 I got 4 kids (1 of my foster kids has LOTS of clothes and didn't need anything) about 5 outfits each that they were absolutely THRILLED about. In fact, I don't know that I have ever seen them so excited about new clothes. Although that is a great deal, I was still a little stressed over spending $93. I got home that afternoon and checked the mail. There was a check in the mail that we had given up on receiving. We were supposed to get it about 4 - 5 months ago, and just figured it wasn't going to happen. It was for $100. God is GOOD!!!!
Now, I am not saying that if you go to church next Sunday and tithe that God is going to send you a check in the mail. God knows our heart and our intentions, but He also promises that when we tithe we will be blessed. That blessing may be financial, emotional, or in some other way. God does say to test Him on this. This is the only thing that the Bible tells us to test God on. I am living proof that God is faithful to His word. Not only on tithing, but in everything. I don't deserve His love, His forgiveness, or his salvation. But He has freely given me all of those things, and continues to bless me every day in little things and sometimes in big things. If you don't know God personally, OR if you have given your life to Him, but then tried to remain in control of it, doing things your own way. I want to encourage you today, to pray, talk to God, and give Him every part of your life. I promise you won't be dissappointed!!!