Privileged

On June 23, 2025   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Malachi 3: 10

[T]est Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.

Isn’t this what you want to hear God say?  He invites us to hold His feet to the fire.  Did you know about this?  Crazy, right?  Let me put this in context for you.

Recently I was in a small group where one person told another that I am a minister. Well, this person was immediately energized with questions. It was as though he had stored up questions and now he had a minister in a setting where he could get those answers. Here is the question I have, “If you could have a minister’s attention for a time, what question would you ask?” I was surprised by his, but perhaps I shouldn’t have been. He asked me about tithing.

People think of Malachi 3: 10 as being about tithing, but is it? Maybe, instead, it is about the blessing. Look again at today’s text. What do you hear in God’s voice? Is He demanding, stern? I hear a father who is desperate to bless. This is the part of the verse I wanted the gentleman to walk away with, that Yahweh wants to bless us. Some people hear a command. Some hear a blessing. What makes an individual hear it differently? What do you hear?

The man’s follow up question was about the distinction between the New and the Old Testament. How, he asked, is the tithe carried over from the Old to the New? I find this question dumbfounding. The answer is John 1: 1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus is the Word, the whole Word. That is one of the things my book, Journey Through the Bible, was intended to show. Honestly, who among us is willing to throw out the Psalms or Proverbs? What about the book of Isaiah or Genesis? Even without this epiphany, I think that is an entirely wrong question. Here’s why.

Tithing did not begin in Malachi. Abraham (when he was still called Abram) tithed (Genesis 14: 20). This was before the Old Covenant. It predates the law. Therefore, even though we have been relieved of the curse of the law, the principle of tithing remains. Further, if you will read that passage in Genesis, you will again see a connection between blessing and tithing.

Here is what I think the real question is and what I believe lies at the root of tithing. I think that love is the basis of tithing. Because He loves me, I tithe. Because I love Him, I tithe. It is such a small honorific to give to Him to remind myself of my love for Him and His love for me. My friend, Chuck Goldberg, adds another insight to tithing. Love, he says, is one side of the tithing coin. The other is respect. Wow! Don’t you find that a powerful statement? We tithe out of respect for our God and Father.

God said, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house,” (Malachi 3: 10a). That’s enough for me. He said it, that ended any debate for me. However, I want to tithe because of love and respect. That is the real key. Do we tithe because of a law or because we want to? If one tithes out of duty or obligation, then perhaps the burden feels heavy. Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11: 30). So, if tithing feels like a burden, you may need to adjust your yoke. Jesus said to go to him and learn of him, so ultimately we all need more of him, his words and his teachings. Then we will receive rest and be free of the burdens we’ve allowed to weigh us down (read Matthew 11: 28 – 30).

Please, don’t allow tithing to be a burden to you. If it is, talk with Jesus. Ask him how to make it a delight. Be blessed!

Do you want coaching? Have questions? Reach out to us, Ivey Ministries Coaching.

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Partnering with Christ

On August 7, 2023   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 11: 28 – 30

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

I opined last week that this passage is ultimately about partnership, partnering with the Divine that is. This is the message I believe Jesus wants us to hear in this age.

There are two ways we generally attack our problems or take on tasks. The first is that we try to do it in our own might. Truthfully, most of us pray about the project, but then we go forward in our might asking Father to anoint our path. When we fail, we often turn back to prayer, which is a good thing. Here, though, we have two ways to turn and based on how powerless we feel we choose our next course. We may opt for the second way of problem solving at this point. That is where we pray and “give the problem to God.”

Wouldn’t we all say that giving any problem to God is a good thing? Sure, we would. Here is the thing though. Sometimes we throw the problem on the floor at God’s feet and walk away. We have figuratively thrown our hands in the air in desperation. Sometimes we begin here. Other times we choose this methodology after attempting to succeed in our strength.

There is a third option. It is partnership. I understand it can be very difficult to achieve the proper balance of roles. Who does what? What do we do? Is our entire job prayer? Is there more? What I observe is that many times people begin in their own strength. Even if they do also offer prayers, they really are relying on the work of their hands. Most of us have been trained to be somewhat self-reliant if not entirely so. Even our pastors teach us, rightfully, that we are to lay our hand to something and then God will bless it. So, I want you to hear that you aren’t wrong, just that there is more.

Other people spend more time crying out to God for the help they know they need. The mistake we can so easily make here is that we take our hands off the plow completely. No longer are we giving God the opportunity to bless the work of our hands. We ask him to do the work and bless the work. I hear so often the hopeless prayers of people. They have given up and their only thought is that if they will pray strongly enough, maybe God will intervene. They give it to God and disengage themselves completely.

The whole truth is that God wants to partner with you. There are so many ways He can do so, but the first step is in us recognizing the importance of partnership. Once we enter into partnership, we no longer need to ask God to anoint our path. He will show us His path which is way better anyway. Of course, our prayer changes significantly because in this collaborative space, we can ask Father or Jesus to show us the way rather than begging them to bail us out of an impossible situation.

There is so much more to say on this topic, however, I want you to see this concept from Jesus’ perspective. First, he recognizes that doing things our way and in our own strength has exhausted us physically, mentally and even spiritually. Therefore, the first step he offers is, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened.” That’s recovery, healing and restoration. Rest and restore. The second part is, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” Wow, I hope that jumped out at you. I don’t think the church has yet to grasp the awesome invitation to working with him that is on offer here. Rest, get yourself restored and then come work with me. Take my yoke. He isn’t taking on your yoke. He is asking you to join him. Be paired with him. What? Do I hear, “Be partnered with me?”

Exactly! That is exactly what Jesus is saying to us. Come join me. He is calling us to join his team and learn his ways. He will be the senior partner who shows us how to move forward with that impossible situation, difficult challenge or even show us how to recover from absolute failure. You see, his yoke is his school of methods. He invites us to work jointly with him so he can show us the ways that will give us the success we desire. Enroll in his school and your demanding situation becomes a class project. Sometimes, it is as simple as changing our prayer.

I remember the story of a woman who was praying every health scripture she knew over her very sick son. She spent night after night praying over him. She knew all the scriptures, so it was a task she was well educated for. Finally, though, in desperation she cried out to God. The child was getting worse instead of better. When she relinquished her control and inquired of God, He told her she was praying the wrong prayer. He guided her to a prayer on death. You see, she had been praying but she was praying the scriptures she thought would impact the situation. When she stopped and asked God, He led her to an entirely different group of scriptures. The child then recovered. It wasn’t that she wasn’t praying to God. It was that she wasn’t truly partnering with Him. You can see how this could be confusing. She thought she was working with Him but she wasn’t. She didn’t ask Him what she should do. She just did what she knew to do. It may be subtle but there is a huge difference.

Other times, Jesus will show us an entirely new strategy for doing the work. Maybe you fish off the left side of the boat and he will tell you to drop your net on the right-hand side (John 21: 6).

It may take some time pondering these differences to understand what is being suggested today. Of course, you can take this straight to Yahweh and ask Him. Rather than filing away this Word of the Day, ask Jesus to explain it. Do you know he will speak with you? You can have an entire conversation with him. Don’t know how? Ask me. I can coach you.

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Rest

On September 8, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 11: 28 – 30 

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

You’ve heard the song and now read the book. Come unto me for I give you rest. Are you tired, weary? Jesus gives restoration and healing. He is not arrogant, demanding or boastful. He is gentle and nurturing. He will not lay on you a burden. He will not charge a high cost for his rest and reassurance. The price is already been paid.

Do you know anyone who is worn out? Who has spent their energy striving only to fall on their faces or find that the prize was not worth the effort? Send them this word of encouragement. I just cannot think of a better word of encouragement. Jesus, himself, offers that which so many people are desperate for. Send this to someone today and spread this great news. We don’t have to strive any more. Jesus already paid the cost for our rest. We have only to go to him and receive that which he is warehousing for us. What do you want? What do you need? Jesus has it in abundance for you today.

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I Know the Way

On May 13, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

John 14: 6

I am the way . . .

This is more than a salvation message; it is for everyday.

Jesus is the way to heaven. We all know that but he is also the solution to everyday problems. It is so easy for our life with Jesus to slip into the background. Everyday has so much of its own busyness and trials that those things end up in the foreground of our minds. Increasingly our walk with Jesus ends up being a passive relationship. Well, Jesus wants to know that not only can he help with all of the matters of the day but also that he is willing. In fact, he is more than willing. He wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives.

Our work life is harder than it need be. Jesus said he can take that burden and make it light (Matthew 11: 28 – 30). I keep proving this to myself because the days that I really give to the lord and allow him to lead me all day are amazingly less challenging than the days which I do in my own strength. Some days I just go straight to my computer and start working without even pausing to say, “Good morning Lord.” Man, that is a predictor of how the day is going to go. On those days it seems that I work hard all day and get little accomplished. Then there are the other days when I really do let him be Lord of my day. The ease of those days is almost measurable. So, I wish I would learn this lesson once and for all – give the Lord everything; invite him into everything I do. 

He is the way to handle your family, your occupation, your workout, and even your leisure. He is the way for diet, time management and your spiritual life. He can (and will) give you shortcuts throughout the day because he can do in a second what you cannot do in a whole day. The more we fill up Dad’s inbox, the more He likes it and the better our lives go. He fills us with a holy ease and that is good. Whatever you are doing today, stop for a moment and check in with him. See if he has any advice or guidance. Give him your day and he will give you back good fruit.

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