05/06/22

Most of the time when you hear someone in the church say 10% what do you think of? Many Christians think of their tithe, because as we read in scripture 10 percent is the requested amount, in fact the word tithe literally means “a tenth” in Hebrew.

The purpose of a tithe is to give back to God what he has blessed you with, some feel so abundantly blessed that they give more than 10% while 75-90% of church goers don’t tithe at all. And while I think it very important to tithe, not necessarily because the church needs your money, but because the Bible promises blessings to those who tithe (Malachi 3:10-11). Now as we read through scripture, we see time and time again the physical things that people bring to God as an offering. That got me thinking, 10% isn’t that much to give to God, especially when you are giving back to God that which he has given you. But God has done more than just bless us with an income, he blesses us with life itself every day.

So here is the challenge I have for you, Tithe 10% of your day, this may seem like a lot, but it really only comes down to 48 minutes. Give 48 minutes of your day to God alone, no distractions just you and God. Now you may ask, what in the world could I possibly do for 48 minutes with God? There are lots of things you could do, the obvious answers are that we can read his word and spend much time in prayer. But we can also spend time outside intentionally praising him for his creation or spend time worshiping him through art or music. Spend time meditating on what he has done in your life and what his plans for you are.

We so often overlook how important it is to spend time with God, and some of us spend 40 seconds with God expecting him to give us an answer. It reminds me of Moses on Mount Sinai waiting to receive the 10 commandments. We see in scripture that Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain neither eating nor drinking during that time, in order that God would give to him the ten commandments (Deuteronomy 9:9-11). That’s right Moses one of God’s chosen people to lead Israel waited over a month to hear God and we struggle to wait more than 40 seconds. Let’s not overlook the power of the 10%, and what I mean by that is don’t underestimate what God can do with 10% of your income and 10% of your time.

Associate Pastor Clay