When the Israelites conquered the land of Jericho, God told them to give the Oasis to him as an offering. But why would God give them something great like that and then tell them they couldn’t have it? Is our God a greedy god? Not so. In doing this, God was teaching the Israelites to trust him. It was also customary for them to give their first fruits as an offering to God. The very first fruit that comes ripe during the harvest. But how does that teach trust? In doing this, the Israelites were trusting that God would bring in the rest of the harvest. Many things could have gone wrong with the rest of harvest, leaving them with nothing. But they gave their first fruits as a way of saying “I trust you to provide, Lord.”
Fast forward to the 21st century… Today, it is a common practice to give 10% of our income to the Lord. Many people look at this 10% as being what belongs to God, and the rest is ours. But isn’t all of it Gods? Does he really need us to give him 10%? God does not need our 10%, because it does all belong to him. The purpose of the tithe is the same as the giving of the first fruits. For some people giving 10% of what they get is a difficult thing to do. But in doing so, we are saying to God “I trust you to provide, Lord.”
But what about money that is given to us for the World Race? Do I tithe that as well? I struggled with this question, until I looked at it through the eyes of the Israelites. I believe that by giving the first fruits of what I bring in for the World Race, I am saying to the Lord “I trust you to provide, Lord.” And this is a very difficult thing for me to do. $15,500 + is a lot of money to raise. But I believe that I can trust my God to provide all the money I need to go on the World Race. And I am going to show God that I trust by giving 10% of what I bring in, back to the Lord, in some way or another.
If you want to be a part of the way God provides for me, Check out the link on the left side of this page. It says “support me” Any amount you can give, goes a long way in helping me reach my goal. Thank you for your consideration in supporting me. I believe that in doing so you are saying to the Lord “I trust you to provide.” and God will do just that!
