An Offertory Devotional video for Sabbath, May 28, 2022, in your @adventistchurch: vimeo.com/687923846. Putting God first can be difficult. What we can learn from this video that will help us put God first in our lives today? Also available in #Spanish and #Portuguese. Put #GodFirst #StewardshipMinistries
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For more information on the Stewardship Ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, you can head over to stewardship.adventist.org/
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We give a tithe of all because our Lord is the Provider of all. After His victory against a
powerful coalition, Abram gave a tithe of everything—food, goods, and possessions—
to Melchizedek the priest (Gen. 14). Jacob, his grandson, promised to return a tithe of
everything (Gen. 28). According to Leviticus 27:30, “A tithe of everything from the land, whether
grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.” Jesus
Himself acknowledged that tithing was from “all I get” (Luke 18:12) and from the minutest gain
(Matt. 23:23a). What could be the reason for this emphasis on tithing everything?
This real value of tithe is not monetary but symbolic. It reminds us to acknowledge and
remember God as the Giver of all: “He asks us to acknowledge Him as the Giver of all things; and
for this reason He says, of all your possessions I reserve a tenth for Myself, besides gifts and
offerings, which are to be brought into My storehouse” (Ellen G. White, Counsels on Stewardship,
pp. 80, 81). A partial tithe would mean that God is the Giver of only part of what we need.
A well-known trust game called the blind swing helps us to understand the value of depending
on God as the Giver of all. In this game, you close your eyes and allow two individuals to swing you
to and fro. After some time, you experience the peaceful sensation that results from complete
trust. This is possible only when you keep your eyes completely closed and choose not to peek
from time to time. Perfect peace is the outcome of perfect trust. In a world of uncertainties and
confusion, the exercise of tithing from everything, an apex of total dependence, will definitely
contribute to our inner peace. Which message is your tithing practice sending to your brain and
heart? This week, as we worship with our tithe and regular offerings, called Promise, we can grow
in heavenly peace.
Lord, we praise You because in You there is perfect peace. Help us to regularly
acknowledge You as the Giver of all through our tithe, gifts, and offerings.