When you choose to live without God, it's easy to lose that awareness of Him and start making choices that aren't aligned with His ways. Maybe you haven't truly encountered Him yet. Our hearts can be so deceitful, always looking for ways to satisfy our own twisted desires, driven by that inner restlessness.
The only way to live a righteous life is to keep God's word close to your heart and follow His will. That's how genuine goodness grows from deep within.
God isn't pleased when offerings are misused. They should be used to grow His work and spread the Gospel to everyone, fulfilling the command He gave us. Prayer is key to making sure your offerings are used the right way and that you're following God's leading.
And whoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.Ye fools, and blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nations which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.But I have said to you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, who have separated you from other people.Ye shall therefore distinguish between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast or by fowl, or by any manner of living animal that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
Thou shalt not sacrifice to the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, in which is blemish, or any evil favoredness: for that is an abomination to the LORD thy God.
And he spoke this parable to certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or by constraint: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
Will a man rob God? yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, In what have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Therefore if thou shalt bring thy gift to the altar, and there remember that thy brother hath aught against thee;Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
For all these have of their abundance cast in to the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect to Abel, and to his offering:But to Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master: if then I am a father, where is my honor? and if I am a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, In what have we despised thy name?Ye offer polluted bread upon my altar? and ye say, In what have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now to thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.
Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats.But whatever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the LORD.And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect to Abel, and to his offering:But to Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
And if there is any blemish in it, as if it is lame, or blind, or hath any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it to the LORD thy God.
But whatever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.And whoever offereth a sacrifice of peace-offerings to the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a free-will-offering in beeves, or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted: there shall be in it no blemish.Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these to the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar to the LORD.
And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now to thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.
Ye offer polluted bread upon my altar? and ye say, In what have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.
And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace-offerings to the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will.
Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this from your hand? saith the LORD.But cursed be the deceiver, who hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth to the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.
And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it from the sheep or from the goats:
Ye shall offer them besides the continual burnt-offering and his meat-offering (they shall be to you without blemish) and their drink-offerings.
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination to me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot endure; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD.Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath.
And he looked up, and saw rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.And he saw also a certain poor widow, casting in thither two mites.And he said, Of a truth I say to you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all.For all these have of their abundance cast in to the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the precept of men:
To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a distant country? your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to me.
This people draw nigh to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
But to do good, and to communicate, forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.Though ye offer me burnt-offerings and your meat-offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts.Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old?Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?He hath shown thee, O man, what is good; and what the LORD doth require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen by them: otherwise ye have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.Therefore, when thou doest thy alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues, and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Verily, I say to you, they have their reward.But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:That thy alms may be in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret, himself will reward thee openly.
For thou desirest not sacrifice: else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt-offering.The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ye ought to have done, and not to leave the others undone.
Take ye from among you an offering to the LORD: whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass,
And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.And he called his disciples, and saith to them, Verily I say to you, that this poor widow hath cast in more, than all they who have cast into the treasury.For all they cast in of their abundance: but she of her want cast in all that she had, even all her living.
Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
A Psalm of David. Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in my integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
But cursed be the deceiver, who hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth to the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.For he that soweth to his flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption: but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall from the Spirit reap life everlasting.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some have coveted, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
Who shall ascend upon the hill of the LORD? and who shall stand in his holy place?He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
Will a man rob God? yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, In what have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now with this, 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.
Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.
For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what a man hath, and not according to what he hath not.For I mean not that other men should be eased, and you burdened:But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no want.
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,And kept back part of the price, (his wife also being privy to it) and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.But Peter said, Ananias, Why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?While it remained, was it not thy own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thy heart? thou hast not lied to men, but to God.
Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.
And he said to them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained testimony that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no collections when I come.
For as many as are of the works of the law, are under the curse: for it is written, Accursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Incline my heart to thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity; and revive thou me in thy way.
Jesus said to him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.