Partnership II

Proverb 2: 6 -7

For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity.

The Word of the Day you read last Monday was written back during the summer. Since then, I have thought about and talked with God about partnership a good deal. This verse resonates with me within the concept of partnership.

I asked the Father how this partnership works. I see how He works with me but is my example the only way He partners with us or even the single most significant way. God answered me by showing me his storehouse of wisdom.

His wisdom is one of the ways He leads us. Imagine beginning a project of any type or even beginning your day. What if Father began your day by giving you His wisdom. I will tell you what happens. You end up spending your time more wisely. You are more likely to have the right things to say in a situation which moves your goals forward and again, helps you save time because you get to your goal more quickly. You don’t end up having three meetings. Instead, one gets the job done and that is a big deal. Also, you end up at the right place at the right time when you have His wisdom. I cannot tell you the number of times I have run into someone I needed to see just because I allowed the Father to arrange my day.

Of course, there are two bits to this infusion of Godly wisdom. Although, He has stored it up for us and desires to give it to us we must first ask for it. God will not thrust His wisdom upon you any more than He will impose His will on you. You are a sovereign being in His sight. Therefore, we must ask Him and do so daily.

Second, we must listen. I find this can be an incredible challenge because it requires us first, to slow down. I have trouble with pausing, just like you do. I can say though, that my life works much better if I slow down, inquire of the Father and then take the time to listen. Also, some of us have so much noise in our heads that we find it difficult to discern the Father’s voice out of the cacophony within. I could teach an entire series on this topic. In fact, I have taught on how to quiet yourself down and how to hear God’s voice. Search the devotionals on our website and let them speak to you. Or, you have my email address.

Press the pause button of your life, ask the Father to give you His wisdom, ask for His guidance today and then quiet your mind and listen. Breathe. Let the Father do His part which is to guide you with His vast storehouse of wisdom. He is the wisdom and the plan. You are the hands and feet. Let Him instruct you. Then, all your ways will prosper. I believe!

Food Stores

Malachi 3: 10

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test 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.”

This is the leading scripture on tithing. There are different ways to give to the Lord, the most basic of which is the tithe. “Tithe” literally means 10%. The first ten percent of our income is given into the house of the Lord for its support. In the old days people actually gave food stuffs. This, then, was how the priests ate. You see that the verse says, “so that there may be food in My house.” Truth be told, this is still how the ministers eat. The tithe supports the ministers as well as supporting the work of the ministry. The theory is that the ministers feed you with what God has given them to sow and you feed them with what God has given you.

Father God is serious about this. He is serious about the blessing that He has appointed for the tithers. You can see this in His promise to open His storehouse for us and in His permission for us to hold His feet to the fire on this promise. He says, “Test me now in this.” That is an amazing statement for Him to make, that we should put God to the test!

So, the tithe is the first ten percent of our income and it is paid into the church for its support. God always has a reward attached to all of our giving and the opened storehouses of heaven are the reward for tithers. In addition, verse 11 says that He, God, “will rebuke the devourer” for our sakes if we are tithers. He protects our crop and all that we own so that the devourer does not diminish it in any way. That is a pretty big benefit by itself.

My advice, then, is to become a tither if you are not. It is just fiscal foolishness not to. In today’s economic climate, you really do need to be connected to God’s storehouse, to His provision. Then you will always know where your next meal ticket will come from. This is how we store up for ourselves, not by hoarding.