Amen!!

This old song dropped in my heart and it is so true...


You can't beat God giving no matter how you try
For just as sure as you are living and the Lord is in heaven on high
The more you give the more He gives to you
Just keep on giving because it's really true
That you can't beat God giving no matter how you try!!

LW wrote about the joy in giving...whew!! Rico, this thing is just stirring me today...:hanky

My initial thought when I read this was that I don't know that I'd shout a dance whenever I put my tithe and offering into the plate.

But on the other hand, I do know that I feel VERY sad whenever I don't give like I ought to. For 2 weeks in a row I completely forgot our checkbook at home. And I never carry my purse to church. When I realized I didn't have the check to drop in the offering, I was seriously bummed. Even I was surprised at that.

Just wondering, do you folks really believe the line in that song, "The more you give the more He gives to you"? It was commonly believed in the AG where I used to belong, too.

In my experience, it never worked that way. In fact, just the opposite happened when I stopped tithing. I cut back my giving from 10% of my gross pay (which I'd been doing since I was a kid) to even less that 10% of net. A few months later, I got the biggest raise, both in dollars and in percentage increase, I had ever gotten.

I think it was a coincidence, personally. But maybe, just maybe, it was a "reward" for starting to follow the NT principle of giving as I "purposeth" in my heart, not "grudgingly" or "of necessity" (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Now, I can honestly say that, when I give (whether to church or to a charity), I am a cheerful giver. As a tither, there were times it was cheerful, sure, but often not. Not exactly grudgingly, either, but usually it was my duty and obligation. "Of necessity".

Yes, Timmy, I do...!!

God has proven Himself time and time again, and in ways I cannot begin to describe.

You see, I feel that we miss it by thinking only in monetary terms. As I ineptly tried to say in an earlier post, the gift is not always money and neither is the reward.

Another point is this...one of the greatest spiritual minds that I know once said that we should not mistake a blessing as a sign of God's approval.

I am not saying the Almighty does not approve of you, but am merely making the point that we should not be deceived that simply because good things seem to happen, God is favoring us.

I am a tither, but will not pretend to dictate what someone should or shouldn't do re tithes and offerings...that is your business.:)

I have to believe it just because I've seen it happen over and over and over again. And not just when I give in the offering. Every single time that I've made a photo DVD for someone (I make funeral videos for our local funeral home) and not charged them, within a day or so, I've had 3 or 4 more to do that were paying jobs.

My mom had an interesting experience with this. We were never rich people. One time at Thanksgiving, someone brought her a turkey. Then my dad got a turkey from work. So she gave one of the turkey's to someone who needed one, leaving us with one for Thanksgiving. The next day, someone else gave her 2 turkeys! So she gave those both away. Within a couple of days, my cousin called. She worked for the food bank and they had an abundance of unclaimed boxes that year. She wondered if Mom would be willing to take some food. Mom, of course, said yes. (she had 5 kids to feed!). This cousin brought her out FIVE boxes of food - and each box included a turkey!!!! Mom said she was almost afraid to give away any of those turkeys. Every time she gave one away, the ones left seemed to multiply!!

Margie, this is priceless...exactly what I'm talking about.

I've purposed in my heart to give the 10%, so I really don't know what you are talking about. LOL

I started this thread because a few days ago, as I was making out my tithe check, I suddenly found myself grinning from ear to ear. I felt this sense of joy come over me that I can't say I have every felt while making out a tithe check and the scripture that talks about God loving a cheerful giver came to mind. I will admit that there have been times when I have paid my tithes with less than a cheerful heart. I have to say, however, that God has unfailingly blessed us when we tithe. I can not explain how it is that he does it, but I we always seem to do more with 90% than we can with 100%. For a time I paid 20% tithes and my income ended up tripling (this was several years ago). There is just something about tithing that God likes and honors. I would encourage anyone who has never tithed, for whatever reason, to give it a shot.

My tithe check is the first one I write each week, before I pay any bills. I LOVE to tithe! I would love to tithe $1,000 each week!!! God has given and given and given to us, and I love to give to Him. He always gives back so much more!

By the way, I gave away a washer and dryer a few years back to someone who needed it. Recently my son moved to an apartment and needed a set. I was able to go to God and ask for one, because I had sowed one. Guess what? Someone gave him a set that is only three years old!!! God is so good!