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My Testimony to the Tithe

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My Testimony to the Tithe“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”  Malachi 3:10

God’s promises

Those are strong promises the Lord gives us if only we are obedient to His commandment to tithe to His church.  Please join me today in the sharing of my testimony to the faithfulness of God’s Word regarding these promises made.

In 1999 I bent the knee of my will to the Lord Jesus Christ and was born again!

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  John 3:3 – Jesus to Nicodemus, a man of the Pharisees, and a ruler of the Jews.

Thanks be to God for His mercy, grace, long suffering and especially His death on the cross for my sin.  Since 1999 I have been walking this earth as an alien no longer feeling at home in this world, but longing to be home with my Lord in heaven.  My purpose on this earth is now solely to yield my body a vessel of honor to the Lord for the work of His church.

Part of my duty as a Christian is to give of my first fruits back to the Lord’s church in the form of a tithe. That is, I am to give 10% of my earnings to the church in obedience to God’s Word.  First fruits meaning we are to give 10% of our gross income, not net income.  This tithing by God’s people is one of the ways the Lord funds his ministry here on earth.  Does the Lord need our money?  No, He can do anything He wishes any time He wishes, however the tithing of His people is the system He chose to implement and work through, so as Christians we need to faithfully give in this manner.

Have I tithed faithfully since my salvation in 1999?  No, regrettably I have not.  At times I have been a faithful giver, and at other times have been disobedient to my Lord and withheld my tithe for one reason or another.  Today I want to give my readers a journal entry of my experience of both giving in obedience, and not giving in disobedience.

Looking back over the 9 years of my Christian life I can now see that the times of my greatest financially stability, regardless of how much money I was bringing in, were in direct correlation to when I was giving of my tithe to my local new testament church.  Likewise, the times when I seem to have struggled financially were always in the midst of a titheless period in my life.  Though I have always known I should tithe, the Lord has just recently revealed the utter and imminent importance of these things to me in all clarity of mind.  I began faithfully tithing again at the first of this year (January 2009) and intend to never go another month of my life without giving to the Lord in this respect.  Over these last two months I have been witness to Gods direct financial intervention in my life.  To me it is both a blessing and a miracle.  Before tithing I always seemed to be living paycheck to paycheck (sound familiar?), seemed to be slowly getting into more credit card debt, all while being unable to save much of anything. Why was this happening?  My wife & I don’t have any kids.  We don’t buy new cars.  We don’t buy expensive toys.  We don’t blow a lot of our money on frivolous purchases…so why was this happening to us?

In the Old Testament, when God’s people were not obedient in the giving of their tithe, one way or another He always seemed to part them with the money they were withholding from Him.  In my life, while disobedient, it always seemed like random things were happening that would consume any extra money I had left over leaving me wanting again until my next paycheck.  Now that the Lord has granted me repentance and has again turned me toward Him these things have changed drastically.  Before tithing I would pay my bills on the last possible day they were due, sometimes even having to pay late fees, simply because I had to wait for my next check to be deposited before I could pay the bill.  Now that I have been tithing, I am able to pay all my bills the day I get them in the mail.  To summarize, let me give you some of my financial drawbacks I experienced before tithing, and what I am realizing now that I’m giving faithfully.

Before I was giving my tithe:

  • I was living paycheck to paycheck
  • I waited until the due date of my bills before I paid them
  • Every single month I seemed to incur random expenses that consumed all my extra money and even pushed me more into debt
  • Always broke even on my tax return or owed money to the government
  • Bank fees: be they credit card over the limit, over-drawn checking account, late payments fees…you name it I paid it
  • A guilty conscience
  • A heavy heart

Now that I’m tithing, though no increase in salary this has been my experience:

  • I’m able to save at least $200 every month
  • I pay every bill the day it comes in the mail
  • Random expenses have not been a part of my life for the last few months
  • For the first time since we filed taxes Married Filing Jointly, my wife & I are receiving a sizable return of over $1,200
  • No more bank fees
  • A clear conscience and a happy countenance
  • A peace that passes all understanding – Philippians 4:7

Please believe that the things listed above are just the tip of the iceberg.  My obedience to God in my tithe opens the door to other areas of obedience and therefore more blessings of a peaceful spirit and fellowship with my God!

If you are a Christian, I strongly urge you to consider my experience and use it to transform your view upon Christ, His Church, and your tithe.  Please give joyfully and liberally and experience the blessings of the Lord!  He is challenging you today to prove Him now, how will you respond?  If you are not born again, please consider Christ and His death on the cross for your sin.  Look to Him and live.

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.  And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”  Romans 5:6-11

What is your giving testimony?

Share your experience with giving in the comments below. God bless.

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Understanding and Improving Cash Flow

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One of the more powerful concepts to understand in the matter of personal finance is cash flow. Most of us can easily tell the difference between being confident & comfortable with our finances versus struggling with our finances.  Unfortunately, many people do not truly understand cash flow, nor do they grasp the crucial role it plays in regard to their own personal finances. When you understand the concept of cash flow and can then work to improve it… you give yourself tremendous flexibility which will undoubtedly bring to light many otherwise indiscernible opportunities.

What is cash flow?

Cash flow is basically your income minus your expenses. If your income is about the same as your expenses, you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck. If your income is higher, you’re financially okay. And if your income is lower, you’re accumulating debt. Very simple isn’t it?

And here is the beautiful part. Once you understand the basic components — income and expenses — you can begin to take concrete actions to improve your finances. And you can break down the problem even further by looking at reducing individual expenses and improving your income.

How to improve your cash flow

Reduce your expenses

The quickest way to improve your cash flow is by attacking your expenses; especially the recurring month-to-month type. The biggest bang for your buck is your mortgage, if you have one. Take a look at today’s best mortgage rates and see if it makes sense for you to refinance. Refinancing alone could free up several hundred dollars that you could use for other financial endeavors.

This process of expense reduction is even easier if you are already keeping a budget. If you don’t have one, you should start tracking your expenses and start work to create one. The key to success in expense reduction is doing all the little things that add up and trying to take one small step at a time. Don’t try to reduce your expenses by 50% — it will never happen. Challenge yourself to cut $50 a month or a $100 a month. Once you accomplish that, go for another $50, and so forth.

Increase your income

The other side of the equation is improving your income. This is harder than cutting your expenses, but there are things that you could do — even little things like moving your money to a high interest savings account helps you to earn more. Again, it’s all the little things that add up.

What about a other income ideas? You can basically break them down into a few categories:

  1. Earn more from your job — i.e., ask for a raise, get a promotion, work overtime, etc.
  2. Earn more outside your job. Here are a few additional income ideas for you to mull over.
  3. Make your money work harder — i.e., investing in the stock market, real estate investing, and other alternative investments, etc.

What to do with your free cash

So you’ve improved your cash flow, what should you do with the extra cash? Here are a few ideas:

  • Pay down your debt — e.g., credit card debt reduction, car loan, student loan, etc. As you do this, you’ll free up even more cash because you no longer have to pay all the finance charges and monthly payments.
  • Invest your money. Again, make your money work for you and continue to improve your cash flow.
  • Give. If you are in a position to give, charitable donation is also a great way to use your money.

I hope you enjoyed this article, and more importantly, I hope you walk away with a few ideas you can use to improve your finances.

Pinyo is the owner and primary author of Moolanomy Personal Finance blog. Moolanomy focuses on practical money management concepts, personal finance tips, and wealth building. If you like this article, please visit his blog. Lastly, you can leave financial question on Moolanomy Answers where Pinyo and other community members participate to provide you with answers.

Ways To Save Money This Christmas

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1. Don’t participate in gift giving

Instead of buying people gifts they don’t need, let them know you’re not participating and why. Tell them it goes both ways and that you strongly prefer not to receive gifts either. Explain your position so they understand, and be honest. If it’s because you want to organize a family drive for the needy instead, let them know and encourage participation. If you want to reject consumerism, illustrate your reasons without being pushy or judgmental of those who disagree. If you just plain can’t afford it, be honest, I promise they will understand, and it may be contagious – many people feel the same but are afraid to be different.

Be a catalyst for positive change and people will follow your lead.

2. Give to the needy

When did you last spend time helping people in need? There is a reason it is called, “the gift of giving.” Giving to those who have real needs (food, shelter, clothing, transportation) creates happiness for all involved. Call your church and ask where your help is needed most. Give unused clothes – nice stuff, not something raggedy you never wear – to your local homeless shelter. Serve at the food bank and help organize the drive to provide Christmas meals for families who have lost jobs and would be otherwise unable to celebrate the season.

3. Give of your time

You can cook people dinner, do chores around their house, babysit their children while they go out to a romantic dinner, or write letters explaining how people are important to you. Be creative and think outside the box. Spend time thinking about the individual needs of your loved ones so you can do something really special for each of them.

Shoveling driveways for neighbors without telling them is a great show of charity. Help your church put up and take down Christmas decorations… trust me, there is no such thing as the decoration fairy and it doesn’t “just happen.”

Making gifts is another great way to give of your time, and a great way to use your God given talents creating something awesome for those you love.

4. Make homemade gifts

There are many benefits to making homemade gifts. It shows you dedicated time to people. It allows you to use your gifts – if you can cook, give baked goods. If you can woodwork, make toys or simple decor pieces to show you care for them. Make your own cards, gifts, gift labels, or just write people Christmas letters explaining why they are special to you. This will require more of your time but less of your money. When you spend time creating unique gifts for people, it really shows. Especially if you include hand written memories explaining why they are special to you. People love to hear why they are important, think about it… we just don’t get much of that in our culture. Change that this year and do something unique and special for loved ones.

Give anonymously

However you decide to give, do it anonymously whenever possible – I promise it’s one of the coolest things you will ever do. Anonymity is one of the secrets of true charitable giving. In the bible the Lord Jesus tells us to give without seeking the praise of men. It shows we believe Him and that we seek His reward in the afterlife and not the praise of men in this life.

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest [thine] alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” Matthew 6:1-4

However you give, do so with charity. Be creative and use the talents God gave you to express your love for family, friends, and the needy. You know how you feel about people better than Walmart does… so tap into the power of the season and do something awesome this year.

How will you give while saving money this Christmas?

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