Life Plan Devotion #146 [Experiment in Tithing]
Hi, Everyone.
I weighed, and I'm down 3 of the 4 lbs. gained, so I feel very blessed. Thank you for your prayers. Keep it up; it's working. :) Please pray for me, too, as I spend time writing new devotions, that I will hear the voice of God and be obedient to His direction.
Prayer is powerful, that's for sure. One of my OH friends and I (as well as other believers) prayed in agreement for the salvation of her daughter, and yesterday my friend posted that her daughter has accepted Jesus as Savior. The angels in Heaven rejoiced, and so did I. :)
Please pray for those having surgery or recuperating from surgery today.
Life Plan Devotion #146 [Experiment in Tithing]
Malachi 3:10 "'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'" (NIV).
Today, we end the mini-series on giving. Perhaps you've heard it said that "You can't outgive God." That is so true. John Bunyan (author of Pilgrim's Progress) wrote, "A man there was and they called him mad; the more he gave, the more he had." The "world" doesn't get that, but, for the Christian who knows, believes, and acts on God's Word, that saying is true.
While we are not to tempt or test God, there is one place in the Bible where He gives us permission to test Him, to "prove" Him. It's Malachi 3:10 (our key verse above). With that verse in mind, read the following true story about an experiment in tithing.
Perry Hayden, a Quaker from Te****eh, Michigan, in 1940, heard a message on tithing, based on John 12:24, "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds" (NIV). He asked himself, "How much is 'much fruit' (King James Version of 'many seeds'), and how would tithing affect that?"
Mr. Hayden committed, before the Lord, to take 1 cubic inch (360 kernels) of wheat, sow it, and of everything that came in from that cubic inch, he'd tithe 10%, then sow the remaining 90% back into the ground. He would do that for 6 years.
These are the basic statistics, in the interest of space:
Year #1, it took 4' x 8' to plant 1 cubic inch of wheat. He had a small harvest. He tithed 10%, sowing the remaining 90 percent. He continued the practice of tithing 10% of the harvest and sowing the remaining 90% back into the ground, each year for 6 years.
Year #2, it took 24' x 60' to plant.
Year #3, it took 3/4 of an acre to plant.
Year #4, it took 14 acres to plant.
Year #5, it took 230 acres to plant.
Year #6, 5,000 bushels of wheat kernels were sown on 2,666 acres.
360 kernels of wheat became 55 billion kernels of wheat in 6 years! Figuring the average yield of wheat farmers in the area, if they had not tithed but had sown 100%, they'd have made only about $21,000 over the 6 years. With Mr. Hayden tithing 10% and sowing 90%, God prospered his yield above the average farmer's, so that he made $288,000 in 6 years.
If you tithe, God will bless the remaining 90%!
What this has to do with weight loss: Every day, you sow a seed for your weight-loss harvest. With every good habit, you set into motion a harvest of good health. Just as the farmer must be patient after sowing seed, resisting the urge to dig it back up to see if it's growing, you must be patient and allow for the slow changes. Just as the Lord honors your obedience in tithing, giving you an abundant harvest, if you partner with Him, and if you don't give up, one day, you'll see a whole new, healthier you.
Confession:
I am a tither. I give God 10% of all I earn. He blesses the remaining 90%, and I experience Floodgate blessings from Heaven.
Blessings,
Mary
I weighed, and I'm down 3 of the 4 lbs. gained, so I feel very blessed. Thank you for your prayers. Keep it up; it's working. :) Please pray for me, too, as I spend time writing new devotions, that I will hear the voice of God and be obedient to His direction.
Prayer is powerful, that's for sure. One of my OH friends and I (as well as other believers) prayed in agreement for the salvation of her daughter, and yesterday my friend posted that her daughter has accepted Jesus as Savior. The angels in Heaven rejoiced, and so did I. :)
Please pray for those having surgery or recuperating from surgery today.
Life Plan Devotion #146 [Experiment in Tithing]
Malachi 3:10 "'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'" (NIV).
Today, we end the mini-series on giving. Perhaps you've heard it said that "You can't outgive God." That is so true. John Bunyan (author of Pilgrim's Progress) wrote, "A man there was and they called him mad; the more he gave, the more he had." The "world" doesn't get that, but, for the Christian who knows, believes, and acts on God's Word, that saying is true.
While we are not to tempt or test God, there is one place in the Bible where He gives us permission to test Him, to "prove" Him. It's Malachi 3:10 (our key verse above). With that verse in mind, read the following true story about an experiment in tithing.
Perry Hayden, a Quaker from Te****eh, Michigan, in 1940, heard a message on tithing, based on John 12:24, "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds" (NIV). He asked himself, "How much is 'much fruit' (King James Version of 'many seeds'), and how would tithing affect that?"
Mr. Hayden committed, before the Lord, to take 1 cubic inch (360 kernels) of wheat, sow it, and of everything that came in from that cubic inch, he'd tithe 10%, then sow the remaining 90% back into the ground. He would do that for 6 years.
These are the basic statistics, in the interest of space:
Year #1, it took 4' x 8' to plant 1 cubic inch of wheat. He had a small harvest. He tithed 10%, sowing the remaining 90 percent. He continued the practice of tithing 10% of the harvest and sowing the remaining 90% back into the ground, each year for 6 years.
Year #2, it took 24' x 60' to plant.
Year #3, it took 3/4 of an acre to plant.
Year #4, it took 14 acres to plant.
Year #5, it took 230 acres to plant.
Year #6, 5,000 bushels of wheat kernels were sown on 2,666 acres.
360 kernels of wheat became 55 billion kernels of wheat in 6 years! Figuring the average yield of wheat farmers in the area, if they had not tithed but had sown 100%, they'd have made only about $21,000 over the 6 years. With Mr. Hayden tithing 10% and sowing 90%, God prospered his yield above the average farmer's, so that he made $288,000 in 6 years.
If you tithe, God will bless the remaining 90%!
What this has to do with weight loss: Every day, you sow a seed for your weight-loss harvest. With every good habit, you set into motion a harvest of good health. Just as the farmer must be patient after sowing seed, resisting the urge to dig it back up to see if it's growing, you must be patient and allow for the slow changes. Just as the Lord honors your obedience in tithing, giving you an abundant harvest, if you partner with Him, and if you don't give up, one day, you'll see a whole new, healthier you.
Confession:
I am a tither. I give God 10% of all I earn. He blesses the remaining 90%, and I experience Floodgate blessings from Heaven.
Blessings,
Mary
"Don't tell God how big your storm is; tell your storm how BIG your God is!"
ObesityHelp Support Group Leader and Support Group Coach
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