Malachi 3:10 - Summer of Scripture

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Welcome to Summer of Scripture on the Naked marriage podcast. For 66 days in a row, we are releasing a daily devotional episode for your marriage. And over these 66 days, we're going to pull out one scripture from each of the 66 books of the Bible and talk about how it applies to your marriage. So if you listen to every single one of these episodes, you're going to have a comprehensive understanding of God's plan. And for your marriage, we encourage you to listen to everyone. Let's dive into today's scripture.

Hey there. Welcome back to the Summer of Scripture on the Naked Marriage podcast. You guys, thank you so much for joining us. We are officially on day 39 in the book of Malachi, another amazing Bible name that I just love so much. And we're in chapter three, verse ten. It says this. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my temple. If you, if you do, says the Lord of heaven's armies, I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in. Try it. Put me to the test. And I love this. This is like the only time that God's like, test me, okay? Test me and see.

He invites us. Test me in this. And it has to do with our giving. And again he says, test me. Because this is the thing we hold onto the tightest. You know, I've heard it said the. The last part of a person to get saved is their wallet. You know, we give God our heart first and our wallet last. But when we trust God with our money, realizing it's all his and we're just temporary stewards of it, temporary managers of. Opens up a new perspective. And the tithe, that concept of a tithe. Tithe means tenth. It literally means tenth. And in the Old Testament, it was customary to bring the first tenth of your crop of your income, it into the storehouse, meaning into the church, the temple, into the work of God. In the New Testament, it meant again, same thing, bringing the first tenth into the storehouse. The church the work of God. And in doing.

I'm looking goofy, and you know why. Go ahead.

What did I say?

No, it's nothing. I'm gonna share it in just a minute, but you go ahead.

She's got this work on her face.

I have something you guys are gonna love.

Go ahead.

You know, I don't know.

I say some things.

No, it's not. It's not that. Go ahead. You're explaining the 10th. Go ahead. Or the tithe, which is 10%.

Yes, I'm explaining it. And early in our marriage, we made the commitment that we were going to do this because God tells us to, that the first tenth is his, and any giving you give is on top of the tithe. And so we've given to building campaigns at church and other ministries and charities in addition to that. But I think that was the best financial decision we ever made. Not only because we saw God provide supernaturally, but because it stretched our faith. It reminds us that it all belongs to God. And I just think. I think this is something. Let me challenge you to just take up God's challenge. Test him in this, and you will see that he really does provide.

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It's more blessed to give than to receive.

It really is. Yeah.

And we have seen that over and over again. And please don't misunderstand us in this being some kind of health and wealth gossip.

No, no, no. Yeah.

Not at all. But this is something where it's just. What? When I say it's more blessed to give than to receive. Just the. The epiphanies, the revelations, whatever you'd like to call them that we receive whenever we do, step out in faith and give that tithe and then even above it for different charities and building campaigns and things like that, it's just the blessing of. And I don't necessarily. There have been financial blessings through that, but really more than that, just. Just the peace and just growing our faith. It's been amazing. No, why I was smiling, you guys. I'm sorry I carried away so Dave, as you guys know, is a pastor and has been a pastor for many years at Stevens Creek Church. And there are two. Two different songs about tithing that I'm going to have our producer link to for your enjoyment.

Yeah, I got roped into this one.

Called It's a Rap. He sounds like a Beastie Boy when he raps. This guy has rap skills, and he really does. Okay. But he did one where he goes, 10, 10, 10, 10, ten percent. Okay. It's hilarious. And then he did I'm Tithing and I know it, which is a rendition, a Christian rendition, to explain the tithe to the song I'm sexy and I know it, right?

Yeah. And you are sexy and, you know.

But it's like, I'm tithing and I know it.

Yeah. So I've been roped into doing some things that will prevent me from ever running for public office, because once I resurface online, I've got no, no chance. But we had a lot of fun, and I do think you should have fun in church and you should have fun with the give. The Bible says God loves a cheerful giver. Really? The Greek base for that word, cheerful is where we get the word hilarious. Like, God loves a hilarious giver. Somebody that is so full of joy and laughter that it is like just a celebration with laughter and joy to be able to give.

Yeah.

Not like this begrudging, miserly giving. God doesn't want to pry anything out of your hands. He doesn't need anything from you. But we need to be able to give and experience the blessing that comes when we do give. And it starts, I believe, when we. I think, that the tithe isn't what we should work up to. I think really it's the starting point for giving. It's kind of that baseline of this should be automatic. And then let's be generous on top of this with our time, with our resources in any way that we can. Right.

I just actually saw a friend of ours from church who's a realtor. She actually did this awesome post recently, Candice, on Facebook, all about how she's like, I have. You know, I really have taken tithing seriously. And she's like, I just cannot believe how this part of the Bible, it just rings true every time. She's like, just the blessing in my life. And again, not just financial, but just above and beyond in every way. She's like, I just have really committed to that. And she's like, and let me tell you, test the Lord and see that he will fulfill this promise. And it's just so cool to see it play out. And we've seen that. I mean, time and time again, whether we had a little or a little lot, like, we've seen God really bless us in various ways by really holding, you know, doing what he asked us to do by giving a tithe. And it's just. I know it doesn't make sense to the rest of the world because, again, it's not. It's not like a standard practice to just give to an organization a tenth of your whole income. But, like, I can't tell you how. This is how churches, first of all, keep going. You know, they can call to help.

Support the work of the church.

Exactly. To be the beacons in the community they're supposed to be. But also, it just. It's something that. But I think it also helps us all depend on God. It helps us depend on God more. So. Yeah.

So, guys, give it a try. I'm telling you. I know that might sound like a crazy concept. You're listening to this. Like, what in the world? Like, we're underwater right now, but we understand. I get it. I totally get it.

We've been there many times.

But I'm telling you, you do things God's way with finances in all parts of life. And there's blessing in it. There is. So, guys, thanks so much. Congrats on wrapping up the Old Testament. We're going to skip ahead 400 years tomorrow and get to the start of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew. And Jesus is going to be on the scene live and in person, and we look forward to seeing you there.