SCRIPTURE:

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, 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. (Malachi 3:10)

DEVOTIONAL:

Tithing should not be looked upon as an obligation, but rather as a privilege. It is time that we acknowledge the sovereignty of our God and practice obedience to His Word. Sovereign means supreme in power, rank and authority, independent of others and above all. 

Before God created man, He made a natural, material world for him to live in. He then placed man in a beautiful and abundant garden. After man violated the command of God by eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he was forced to live a life of toil and hard work. God intervened and sent His only begotten Son to bear our sins, redeeming us from the curse of sickness, poverty and spiritual death.  

Now, we who have received His Son are blessed in all things, redeemed from the curse, and acknowledge God by giving Him the tithe, which is ten percent of all our (legal) income, profit, or financial increase. I believe the tree in the garden was a type of tithe which Adam and Eve ate. The lesson here is simple; by eating the tithe, you can eat yourself out of house and home.

PRAYER:

Dear Father, You are above all in heaven and earth, and I acknowledge your sovereignty above all mankind. Jesus is my Savior and Lord, and through Him, I am redeemed from the curse and blessed in all things. Sickness, poverty and spiritual death have no place in my life—praise the Lord! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Dr. Bill Winston’s book, The Power of the Tithe. To order this uplifting book, click here.

Listen to this devotional here.