Category
108 Offering and Tithes
Think about this: Christ loved us so much that he gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering to God.1 He made the ultimate sacrifice for you on the cross, loving you to death and beyond. Even as time marches on, His love stays constant.
It's so important for you to grasp that the biggest sacrifice has already been made. But now, you get to be a pleasing offering to God, too. Let your service, your honor, and your giving be a delight to your Heavenly Father. Know that Jesus has given you everything, and anything you offer pales in comparison to His love.
Giving to God, supporting His work, it's an expression of love. Don't see it as a burden or an obligation, but as a response to God's love and Jesus' sacrifice. It's a way of saying "thank you" for everything Heaven has poured into your life.
1Ephesians 5:2
Then he says:And after all these things are forgiven, there is no more need for a sacrifice {\cf2\super [132]} \{to pay\} for sins.
Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the temple {\cf2\super [132]} area. He was near the place where all the people came to give money. But no person arrested him. The right time for Jesus had not yet come.
The Lord All-Powerful says, “Try this test. Bring one-tenth of your things to me. Put those things in the treasury. Bring food to my house. Test me! If you do those things, then I will truly bless you. Good things will come to you like rain falling from the sky. You will have more than enough of everything.
Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell any person about what happened. But go and show yourself to the priest. {\cf2\super [89]} And offer the gift that Moses commanded \{for people that are made well\}. This will show people that you are healed.”
Live a life of love. Love other people the same as Christ loved us. Christ gave himself for us—he was a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice {\cf2\super [37]} to God.
“The master answered, ‘You did right. You are a good servant that can be trusted. You did well with a small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’“Then the servant that got one bag of money came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, I knew that you were a very hard man. You harvest things you did not plant. You gather crops where you did not put any seed.
Each person should give what he has decided in his heart to give. A person should not give if it makes him sad. And a person should not give if he thinks he is forced to give. God loves the person who gives happily.
Jesus sat near the temple money box {\cf2\super [178]} where people put their gifts. He watched the people put money in the box. Many rich people gave much money.Then a poor widow {\cf2\super [179]} came and gave two very small copper coins. These coins were not even worth a penny.Jesus called his followers to him. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. This poor widow gave only two small coins. But she really gave more than all the rich people.Those people have plenty; they gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor. But she gave all she had. And she needed that money to help her live.”
Honor the Lord with your wealth. Give him the best you have.Then you will have all you need. Your barns will be full of grain and your barrels will be flowing over with wine.
“A tenth of all crops belong to the Lord. This means the crops from fields and the fruit from trees—a tenth belongs to the Lord.
Salvation comes only from the Lord!\par “Lord, I will give sacrifices to you,\par and I will praise and thank you.\par I will make special promises to you,\par and I will do the things I promise.”\par
He gave himself for us. He died to free us from all evil. He died to make us pure people that belong only to him—people that are always wanting to do good things.
He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for us all. So with Jesus now, God will surely give us all things.
Each man should give as much as he can. He should decide how much to give by thinking about how much the Lord has given him.
Give to other people, and you will receive. You will be given much. It will be poured into your hands—more than you can hold. You will be given so much that it will spill into your lap. The way you give to other people is the way God will give to you.”
If you want to give, then your gift will be accepted. Your gift will be judged by what you have, not by what you don’t have.
Gather special gifts for the Lord. Each of you should decide in your heart what you will give. And then you should bring that gift to the Lord. Bring gold, silver, and bronze [356] ;
All these things didn’t come\par from me and my people!\par All these things come from you.\par We are only giving back to you\par things that came from you.\par
So brothers and sisters, I beg you to do something. God has shown us great mercy. So offer your lives as a living sacrifice {\cf2\super [130]} to God. Your offering must be only for God and will be pleasing to him. This offering of yourselves is the spiritual way for you to worship (serve) God.
And don’t forget to do good for other people. And share with other people. These are the sacrifices that please God.
“Every year you must be sure to save one tenth of all the crops that grow in your fields.Then you must go to the place the Lord chooses to be his special house. You will go there to be with the Lord your God. At that place you will eat the tenth of your crops—one tenth of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the first animals born in your herds and flocks. In this way, you will always remember to respect the Lord your God.
On the first day of every week each one of you should save as much money as you can from what you are blessed with. You should put this money in a special place and keep it there. Then you will not have to gather your money after I come.
Melchizedek blessed Abram and said,And we praise God Most High. God helped you to defeat your enemies.”
It is good for a person\par to be kind and generous.\par It is good for a person\par to be fair in his business.\par
If a person gives freely, then he will gain even more. But if a person refuses to give, then he will become poor.A person who gives freely will profit. If you help others, then you will gain more for yourself.
“It will be bad for you teachers of the law and Pharisees. {\cf2\super [341]} You are hypocrites. {\cf2\super [342]} You give God one tenth of everything you own—even your mint, dill, and cummin. {\cf2\super [343]} But you don’t obey the really important teachings of the law—being fair, showing mercy, and being faithful. These are the things you should do. And you should also continue to do those other things.
So bring your thank offerings {\cf2\super [301]} \par \{to share with the other worshipers\}\par and come to be with God.\par You made promises to God Most High,\par so give him the things you promised.\par
Jesus saw some rich people putting their gifts for God into the temple money box. {\cf2\super [329]}Then Jesus saw a poor widow. {\cf2\super [330]} She put two small copper coins into the box.Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. This poor widow gave only two small coins. But she really gave more than all those rich people.The rich people have plenty; they gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor. But she gave all she had. And she needed that money to help her live.”
Then the priests brought the offerings, tithes, {\cf2\super [387]} and other things that were to be given only to the Lord. All those things collected were put in the storerooms in the temple. Conaniah the Levite was in charge of all those things that were collected. Shimei was second in charge of those things. Shimei was Conaniah’s brother.
A person who gives freely will be blessed. He will be blessed because he shares his food with poor people.
I always showed you that you should work like I did and help people that are weak. I taught you to remember the words of the Lord Jesus. Jesus said, ‘You will be happier when you give than when you receive.’”
I have all the things I need. I have even more than I need. I have all I need because Epaphroditus brought your gift to me. Your gift is like a sweet-smelling sacrifice {\cf2\super [24]} offered to God. God accepts that sacrifice and it pleases him.
A person might be sad\par when he plants the seeds,\par but he will be happy\par when he gathers the crops!\par
If any person helps one of these little ones because they are my followers, then that person will truly get his reward. That person will get his reward even if he only gave my follower a cup of cold water.”
“I will tell you the kind of special day I want—a day to make people free. I want a day that you take the burdens off people. I want a day when you make the troubled people free. I want a day when you take the burdens from their shoulders.I want you to share your food with the hungry people. I want you to find poor people that don’t have homes, and I want you to bring them into your own homes. When you see a man that has no clothes—give him your clothes! Don’t hide \{from helping those people\}; they are just like you.”
Whenever you can, do good things for people who need help.If your neighbor asks you for something and you have it, then give it to him right then! Don’t tell him, “Come back tomorrow and get it.”
The person who is learning the teaching of God should share all the good things he has with the person who is teaching him.
Give this command to the people who are rich with the things this world has. Tell them not to be proud. Tell those rich people to hope in God, not their money. Money cannot be trusted. But God takes care of us richly. He gives us everything to enjoy.Tell the rich people to do good. Tell them to be rich in doing good things. And tell them to be happy to give and ready to share.By doing that they will be saving a treasure for themselves \{in heaven\}. That treasure will be a strong foundation {\cf2\super [34]} —their future life can be built on that treasure. Then they will be able to have the life that is true life.
“Tell the people of Israel to bring me gifts. Each person must decide in his heart what he wants to give me. Accept these gifts for me.
“You will soon enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You will take that land and live there.You will gather the crops that grow in the land the Lord is giving you. You must take the first crops and put them in baskets. Then take that first part of your harvest to the place the Lord your God chooses to be his special house.
Melchizedek {\cf2\super [54]} was the king of Salem and a priest for God the Most High. Melchizedek met Abraham {\cf2\super [55]} when Abraham was coming back after defeating the kings. That day Melchizedek blessed Abraham.And Abraham gave Melchizedek one-tenth of everything he had. (The name Melchizedek, king of Salem, has two meanings. First, Melchizedek means “king of goodness.” Also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”)
The Lord does anything he wants,\par in heaven and earth,\par in the seas and deep oceans.\parGod makes the clouds all over the earth.\par God makes the lightning and rain.\par And God makes the wind. {\cf2\super [627]} \par
In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that people will see the good things you do. Live so that people will praise your Father in heaven.
And God can give you more blessings than you need. Then you will always have plenty of everything. You will have enough to give to every good work.
Remember the Lord your God. Remember that he is the One who gives you power to do those things! Why does the Lord do this? Because he wants to keep the Agreement that he made with your ancestors [55] —just like he is doing today!
My God, I know that you test people,\par and that you are happy\par when people do good.\par I gladly give you all these things\par with a pure, honest heart.\par I see your people gathered here.\par And I see that they are happy\par about giving these things to you.\par
An evil man quickly borrows money\par and never pays it back.\par But a good man gives freely to other people.\par
Sell the things you have and give that money to people that need it. The riches of this world don’t continue. So get the kind of riches that continue. Get the treasure of heaven. That treasure continues forever. Thieves can’t steal your treasure in heaven, and moths can’t destroy it.Your heart will be where your treasure is.
“When you give to poor people, don’t announce that you are giving. Don’t do like the hypocrites {\cf2\super [73]} do. They blow trumpets before they give so that people will see them. They do that in the synagogues {\cf2\super [74]} and on the streets. They want other people to give honor to them. I tell you the truth. Those hypocrites already have their full reward.So when you give to poor people, give very secretly. Don’t let any person know what you are doing.Your giving should be done in secret. Your Father can see the things that are done in secret. And he will reward you.
If a person gets money by doing bad things, then that money is worthless. But doing good can save you from death.
I am setting this stone up as a memorial stone. It will show that this is a holy place for God. And I will give God one tenth of all he gives me.”
Some of God’s people in Jerusalem are poor. And \{The believers in\} Macedonia and Achaia wanted to help those people. So they gathered some money to give them.
Then Moses sent this message throughout the camp: “No man or woman should make anything else as a gift for the holy place.” So the people were forced to stop giving more.The people had brought more than enough things to finish the work {of building God’s holy place}.
So if the food I eat makes another believer fall into sin, then I will never eat meat again. I will stop eating meat, so that I will not make my brother or sister sin.It is the same with people that have the work of telling the Good News. The Lord has commanded that those people that tell the Good News should get their living from this work.
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, then go and sell all the things you own. Give the money to the poor people. If you do this, you will have a rich treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me!”
At harvest time, [25] Cain brought a gift to the Lord. Cain brought some of the food that he grew from the ground. But Abel brought some animals from his flock. Abel brought the best parts of his best sheep. [26]But the Lord did not accept Cain and his offering. Cain was sad because of this, and he became very angry.
Families and nations, sing songs of praise and glory to the Lord.\parPraise the Lord’s name.\par Get your offerings,\par and go to the temple.\par
Praise the Lord and honor his name!\par Worship him in your special clothes. {\cf2\super [175]} \par
He might cry when he carries\par the seeds out to the field,\par but he will be happy\par when he brings the harvest in!\par \par \par
If a person cheats to get things, then he will bring trouble to his family. But if a person is honest, then he will have no trouble.
So through Jesus we should never stop offering our sacrifice to God. That sacrifice is our praise, coming from lips that speak his name.
“Give the Lord the very first crops that you harvest. Bring those things to the house [353] of the Lord your God.
The elders {\cf2\super [27]} who lead the church in a good way should receive double honor. This is especially true for those elders who do the work of counseling and teaching.Why? Because the Scriptures {\cf2\super [28]} say, “When a work animal is doing the work of separating grain, don’t cover its mouth \{and stop it from eating the grain\}.” {\cf2\super [29]} And the Scriptures also say, “A worker should be given his pay.” {\cf2\super [30]}
Don’t let me tell lies. And don’t make me too rich or too poor—only give me the things I need each day.If I have more than I need, then I will think I don’t need you. But if I am poor then I might steal. Then I will bring shame to the name of God.
A good man gives freely to other people.\par And a good man’s children are a blessing.\par
“Then the king will answer, ‘I tell you the truth. Anything you did for any of my people here, {\cf2\super [389]} you also did for me.’
We must not become tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest \{of eternal life\} at the right time. We must not give up!When we have the opportunity to do good to any person, we should do it. But we should give special attention to the people that are in the family of believers (the church).
You people in Philippi remember when I first told the Good News {\cf2\super [23]} there. When I left Macedonia, you were the only church that gave me help.Several times you sent me things I needed when I was in Thessalonica.
The Lord is my shepherd.\par I will always have everything I need. {\cf2\super [138]} \parHe lets me lie down in green pastures.\par He leads me by calm pools of water.\par
Then there will be plenty of goat milk for you and your family and enough to keep servant girls healthy.
I am making a special gift of gold and silver things for my God’s temple. I am doing this because I really want the temple of my God to be built. I am giving all these things to build this holy temple.
Share with God’s people that need help. Look for people that need help, and welcome those people into your homes.
You should feel sorry for hungry people and give them food. You should help the people that are troubled—satisfy their needs. Then your light will shine in the darkness. And you will have no sadness. You will be bright like sunshine at noon.
A person who helps poor people succeed\par will get many blessings. {\cf2\super [256]} \par When trouble comes,\par the Lord will save that person.\parThe Lord will protect that person\par and save his life.\par That person will be blessed on earth.\par God will not let that person’s enemies destroy him.\par
“Don’t save treasures for yourselves here on earth. Moths and rust will destroy treasures here on earth. And thieves can break into your house and steal the things you have.So save your treasure in heaven. The treasures in heaven cannot be destroyed by moths or rust. And thieves cannot break in and steal that treasure.Your heart will be where your treasure is.
“Give the poor person all that you can. Don’t feel bad about giving to him. Why? Because the Lord your God will bless you for doing this good thing. He will bless you in all your work and in everything you do.
A blessing from the Lord will bring you true wealth. And it won’t bring troubles with it.
That person freely gives things\par to poor people.\par And his goodness will continue forever.\par
And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace (kindness) that God gave the churches (groups of believers) in Macedonia.Those believers have been tested by great troubles. And they are very poor people. But they gave much because of their great joy.I can tell you that they gave as much as they were able. Those believers gave even more than they could afford. They did this freely. No person told them to do this.But they asked us again and again—they begged us to let them share in this service for God’s people.And they gave in a way that we did not expect: They gave themselves to the Lord and to us before \{they gave their money\}. This is what God wants.
The people were very happy because their leaders were happy to give so much. The leaders were happy to give freely from good hearts. King David was also very happy.
If a person has the gift of comforting other people, then that person should comfort. If a person has the gift of giving to help other people, then that person should give freely. If a person has the gift of being a leader, then that person should work hard when he leads. If a person has the gift of showing kindness to other people, then that person should be glad to do that.
If a person asks you for something, then give it to him. Don’t refuse to give to a person that wants to borrow from you.
The Lord does right things for people\par who have been hurt.\par God gives food to hungry people.\par The Lord frees people locked in prison.\par
They asked us to do only one thing—to remember to help the poor people. And this was something that I really wanted to do.
When I come, I will send some men to take your gift to Jerusalem. These men will be the men that you all agree should go. I will send them with letters of introduction.If it seems good for me to go also, then those men will go with me.
I thank God for the help you gave me while I told people the Good News. {\cf2\super [4]} You helped from the first day you believed until now.
Giving money to poor people is like loaning it to the Lord. The Lord will pay you back for being kind to them.
God will make you rich in every way so that you can always give freely. And your giving through us will make people give thanks to God.
God, you give all the living things\par the food they eat.\par You open your hands, filled with good food,\par and they eat until they are full.\par
\{You are not like God\}—you are evil. But you know how to give good things to your children. So surely your heavenly Father will give good things to those people that ask him.
Love each other in a way that you feel close to each other like brothers and sisters. You should want to give your brothers and sisters more honor than you want for yourself.
My enemies are really smooth talkers;\par they talk about peace,\par but they are really planning wars.\par Their words are as slick as oil,\par but those words cut like a knife.\par
Don’t be fooled: You cannot cheat God. A person harvests only the things he plants. {\cf2\super [75]}
Tell the rich people to do good. Tell them to be rich in doing good things. And tell them to be happy to give and ready to share.
God lifts poor people out of the dirt.\par God takes beggars from the garbage dump.\parAnd God makes those people important.\par God makes those people important leaders.\par
You can see that Melchizedek {\cf2\super [57]} was very great. Abraham, {\cf2\super [58]} our great father, {\cf2\super [59]} gave Melchizedek one-tenth of everything that Abraham won in battle.