"Our Daily Bread" -6

"Give us this day our daily bread." If this is what we are to ask for, is this a one way prayer? (Don't worry, I am almost done with this, because I know that there are some who do not want to know.) Being forgiven of our sins does not mean that we are free from honouring God and trusting Him in the basic needs of our life. Tithing is the basic form by which God has given every one of His children, that they would not only give of their substance that they have been given, but that they would give in a manner showing gratitude for His provisions. I don't care if your a beggar on the street, if you are a child of God, then if you receive ten dollars, you should give a dollar; but if you need forty, then you should give four!!! "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or out of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7) Two things that we must look at in this Scripture that are important to know; one is our attitude in giving, the other is God's response. First off, we must give cheerfully; which requires the giver to give with purpose; but not grudgingly or out of necessity; but with more of the idea of a partnership with God in our well being. Come again??? Alright, I will give you the best example that I can: experience in doing. It is not just about pleasing God, it is about testing Him at His word, in an agreement to do what we have purposed to do in our hearts, and then sticking to that which we have purposed to do, because we trust that He will provide. To really become a cheerful giver, then we must figure out what it is that we need to sustain our livelihood, and then pay our tithes accordingly. By doing this, we are taking part in the provisions that we are seeking for, on not only a level of trust, but on a level of a partnership with God, which is based upon His word to prove Him in this area of our life; whereby, we are setting the scale by which we shall be blessed! Odd way to look at it, you might be thinking; yes? But the oddest thing about it, is that God loves a cheerful giver; and He really loves to be trusted in the area of our provision; because He can provide for us in ways that we could never imagine; which I really think He gets a kick out of doing. We may not see how things are going to work out, nor are we meant to; but that is what trusting God is all about!!! Whenever I set down to figure out a budget, I first figure out what I need to pay for those things that I need to live; housing, food, car, health, etc, etc; not forgetting about some down time cost, such as snowboarding (soon!!!); but listing everything that I spend money towards, I come up with a total, that more times than not, needs to be prayed over. After coming up with a total expense for my monthly living, I then figure out what ten percent of that is, giving me a new total of 110% of my budget; which is now my new budget, and that by which I tithe off of. Recently I have done things a little differently, and have been tithing on my weekly sales, but they are so inconsistent, that I have been convicted, that I need to be consistent in the basics, and then give more, when more is given. You might not see this type of giving to fit your needs; but I can assure you, that if you set out, purposing in your heart to give God ten percent of what you need, that God will meet that need, and then some!!! However, let me warn you of one very important thing, that if we begin to start taking a census of what we have; much like David did, in looking upon his abilities instead of trusting God; then we can get ourselves in a wobble, where the wheel of trust is thrown out of balance; trust me on this!!!