Have You Forgot Something?

In the midst of the "shelter at home", the "social distancing" outside, and trying to remember if and when you are to return to work, it’s easy to forget thingss that are not in your face. There is no one anywhere in the world whose life has not changed in one way or another. Even if is no more than having to wear a mask to go to the grocery store, we have all been forced to change patterns of conduct.

The churches have been closed, we have been prohibited from going to the sanctuary. While churches have been on-line or on-the-phone, the one thing that has not been in front of our face is the offering basket. Have you continued in sending your tithes and offering to the storehouse? Have you remembered that even if the church is not in attendance, that the services of the church have continued and probably expanded.

Malachi 3:10 says:

"Begin by being honest. Do honest people rob God? But you rob me day after day. "You ask, ‘How have we robbed you?’ "The tithe and the offering—that’s how! And now you’re under a curse—the whole lot of you—because you’re robbing me. Bring your full tithe to the Temple treasury so there will be ample provisions in my Temple. Test me in this and see if I don’t open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams. (MSG)

I chose the Message translation for it states clearly the dilemma the people were in. They wanted the benefits of the worship and the service of the priests, but they did not want to give to see that the house was provided for. In this passage God does not spend a long time talking about why this was wrong, instead He presents to them a proposition, to test Him, to see that if they brought their tithes to the storehouse, if the very heavens themself didn’t open up and rain down a blessing so great that it could not even be imagined!

That same prophetic promise is true for us today. God will be no man’s debtor. He does not need what we give, we need the benefits of what we give. We need to be placed in a position where we can receive that which God wants to do in our lives. 

Churches will be resuming their services (if they haven’t already) in the next few weeks. If somehow not having an offering basket in front of you these past few months has deterred you from giving, it’s not too late to aim for an open heaven!

Maria