Malachi 3:10 & Luke 6:38
Malachi 3:10 (New International Version)
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my
house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not
throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that
you will not have room enough for it.
Luke 6:38(New International Version)
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken
together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the
measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Here in these two passages one from the Old Testament and one
from the New Testament they are basically saying the same thing. "GIVE"
How do we give to God...through tithe or 10% of everything we make.
This is a true story that happened to me when I first became a
Christian.
I was about 20 yrs old a new Christian and knew about
tithing...but...I was working construction and for two weeks only worked
a few days...it was a slow time of year for construction....anyway I had
just enough money to cover rent a little groceries and only had $20.00
to last untill next payday... 2 weeks away...but the $20.00 was my tithe
money.... and I still needed gas money, etc. I was sitting in the back
of church and as the offering plates were being passed around up in
front. I told God "I can't give this money, it's all I have for two
weeks, and I need Gas!".....the offering plate was getting closer. As it
finally got to me, I let it pass me by and did not give my tithe.
After church that day a lady named Margret Wiggins came up to me
and said. " God wants me to give you this" and she handed me a twenty
dollar bill! I ask god to forgive me for not trusting in him and said
never again God, and to this day have always tithed.
You see God knows our needs before we even ask him!
I learned a couple of valuable lessons that day:
1. Tithe & trust God no matter what the circumstances look like!
2. Listening to God and obeying his voice, like Margret Wiggins did that
Sunday morning!
Later,
DJ Jackson
2 Samuel 23: 11-12
2 Samuel 23 NIV
11. Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel's troops fled from them. 12. But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the LORD brought about a great victory.
I love the stories in the Old Testament, the ones like this story in 2 Samuel.
In this story Shammah, one of King David's
"Mighty Men" When the Philistines came down about 300 to 800 men and were about to raid Israel's crop of lentils all of Israel's troops fled except for Shammah. He stood his ground. He said "NOT TODAY!" and killed them all!
Sometimes you simply have to stand your ground and beat back the enemy from your place of abundance.
Your place of abundance today is your life in Christ. Satan wants to come down and steal it away from you through sin, temptation, hardships, all kinds of ways.
But we need to stand firm in our faith and the power Jesus has given us. Two of the most powerful weapons we have is God's word and prayer.
To be perfectly honest with you I don't always use them I get Lazy and comfortable and when I'm attacked through temptation, hardships', etc. I flee what I mean by flee is I sin. Other times when I'm reading God's word and in Prayer everyday I have great Victory in my Christian walk, like Shammah I have the power to fight the power to say "NOT TODAY!" to temptation or if something tragic happens I have the Faith to get through it.
I encourage you to stand your ground today! be in prayer and into God's word and fight for what Jesus has given us!
Later,
DJ Jackson
Psalm 59:16
16. But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your
love;
for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.
This is a true story that happened during World War Two.
One morning, the Germans were testing a huge Blimp, they had the
Blimp anchored down on the ground with a big cable and also had about
twenty to thirty men hanging onto the Blimp with ropes. All of a sudden
the big cable broke loose from the anchor on the ground and the huge
Blimp started rising into the sky. Some of the men that were hanging
onto the ropes let go right away, some hung on as the blimp rose higher
and higher.
One by one the men could not hold on any longer and started
falling, at first some only broke their legs but as the Blimp got higher
and higher they all started falling to their deaths. After a while there
was only one man still hanging on. By this time there were several
news media personal on the site covering the story. Then after several
hours the Germans finally, somehow managed to get the Blimp back down on
the ground. When they did, all the news people ran over to the one man
that was still hanging onto the rope and asked him, "How did you do it!?
How did you hang on so long!?" The man replied, "I simply tied the rope
around me and let the rope hold me"
Sometimes life is hard, there is divorce, deaths in the family,
relationships, financial situations, many different hardships in our
lives that can causes grief, stress, depression, even suicidal thoughts.
I don't know about you but I'm glad I can put my hope,
strength, my life in the hands of Christ and let him simply hold me.
If your going through something difficult in your life, try
Jesus. Just ask him to help no matter what kind of situation your in. He
is always there to hold you up in times of trouble!
Later,
DJ Jackson
