You Cheat!

You have cheated me. Mal:3:8

A blatant statement, cutting through the heart.

Israel retorts back. How?

By not giving tithes.

Old Testament says 10% of what you earn belongs to the Lord. It went to as high as 33% of what is in your purse that an average Hebrew would give to God. Voluntarily. No compulsion.

But now is not the time to look to percentages. Is there anything which you have, that has not been given to you. Whatever you have is given by the Lord. Everything is His. Your time, your talents, your family, your job, your money. All belongs to Him. And unless you live a life based on this truth inclined to Godhood, submitting every aspect of your life unto Him, you are cheating on God. As you claim it yourself, you say it is mine, it's my desire to do whatever I want with it. You don't interfere. It's pride instead of humbling.

So what will happen of my needs, if I give it all to Him? Try giving. And I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in.

Try it. Put me to test.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And all these things shall be added to you.

Father forgive me for holding on to the things which you have gifted me with and not giving back to you. The whole of it is yours. Not for me to decide what to do with it. And if I see a needy hand opened helplessly before me, help me to give selflessly. Just like how you have given on the cross.

Image credit: https://www.theverge.com/22163811/best-phone

Comments

Storm

I have captained this ship for years. I have faced many a strom. But never has Captain Zadok been so helpless. What is happening? Why this outrage? The waves are higher than ten times what I have faced. There is ruckus all over this deck. The mast is broken. What is left of it is a ghost. The rudder has flewn off like a wheel. The anchor is lost. The stern is like a ploughed field. The shrouds are like harp strings, waving around and causing much damage. Shredding pieces of wood and flesh and blood everywhere it hits.There is vomit all around. The ocean water occasionally washes it into my own room and brings it back. The luggages are all floating. All of the crew is running havoc. Captain Zadok, what should we do? Captain Zadok shall we pull down the sail? Captain Zadok shall i call on my gods? You call on your gods, I used to tell, but I have got this. But have I? Is there somebody up there laughing at the gimmicks that i have been showing althrough my life? Asking m...

Divorce

God hates divorce The same God tells husbands to love your wives as Christ loved the church. The same God tells wives to submit to your husbands. You cannot pick and chose what to obey or not. You might not be physically divorced. You might hang on because it is command to obey. Love as Christ loved the church, unconditionally, selflessly - is also a command to obey. Even when you do not feel like loving. Be it your spouse, or children or your difficult colleague. And if you break one, you are guilty of breaking it all. Image credit: https://www.shutterstock.com/search/hands-separating

Slap

How can I show my other cheek. Already he has slapped me. The world will be making fun of me already. And if I show the other cheek too I will be called a fool. It is pride to not let go. To not let to be trampled. Jesus practised what He preached. He did not retaliate when He had all the power to do so. He could have brought fire from above and annihilated everyone who ridiculed Him. He kept quiet. He let Himself to be crushed in the hands of His own creation. If anyone calls you names. If anyone spreads rumours about you. One side of the world says to face it and retaliate. Other side says, not to bother, to grow above it. For you are what you think what you are and not what others think. Jesus says to love those who hate you. Oh! It looks improbable. But Jesus led from the front. He loved me who ridiculed Him. He loved me who denied Him. He loved me who did not want Him. Pray for him who spreads rumours about you. Pray for him who hurts you. It might be ...

Worry

Not to worry about everyday life. Matt:6:25 6 times Jesus mentions the word 'worry' in Matt:6:25-34 Which means He wants to stress on the fact that worrying is utter foolishness and strikingly useless. If you worry; it is a matter of mistrusting your Father in heaven. That He will take care isn't a reality for you. Logically speaking, by worrying you cannot solve or alleviate your problem. Only affects your mental and emotional status. But whereas by trusting, you are more at peace as you realize that you are in the palm of His hands and for sure, He is Jehovah Jireh and He will not leave you or forsake you. Image credit: https://legacyproject.human.cornell.edu/2021/05/11/worry-wastes-your-life/

Eye

Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. Matt:6:22 Oh be careful little eyes what you see Oh be careful little eyes what you see The Father up above Is looking down in love. Oh be careful little eyes what you see. A tiny song that we learnt as children, but carries heavy significance even for us now. What goes in you either purifies you or defiles you. And the eye is the major gateway of what goes inside of you. And the phone in your hand is the highway that leads to that gateway right now. What do you feed yourself with? Search history tells it out loudly. Whether you have cleared your search history or whether it is in incognito mode or whether your watch history is off. It might be hidden to the world or to your spouse or to your children or to your friends. But apart from you there is one more person who knows it through and through. In fact spick and span. Where do your eyes wander as you walk down the street or drive down the lane? What do your eyes ...

Forgive

Forgive us our sins As we forgive others. If God is merciful to us in the same amount we are merciful to others? We are merciful to them for say five minutes. But God is merciful to us for years. We forgive others and store it all in our mind. But we want God to forgive us with the delete all button. We forgive ourselves like God forgives us. But not others. So that means it's not impossible. We can forgive without a tag. We xam forgive without being asked of. Teach us Lord to forgive as you forgive. Image credit: https://www.mindful.org/learn-to-forgive-others-no-matter-what/

Publicly

Matt:6:1 Don't do your good deeds publicly. God looks at your hearts; not your hands. God looks at the motives behind your good deeds. If it is to gain appreciation and good words from others, then all the reward you will get from God will be lost. Does self stand between you and the reward that you would get? Whom do you want to appreciate you? Don't you want to hear from the Saviour? Well done good and faithful servant. If man's appreciation is all you desire, it is all you will get. If God's appreciation is what you desire, that is what you will get. So do everything as for God, so that people wouldn't know. Pray shutting the door behind you. Not empty babbling of words. Worship when you are alone more. Let your left hand not know what your right hand does. Image credit: https://www.inc.com/brent-gleeson/20-tips-for-mastering-art-of-public-speaking.html

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