This week in our Hero Series, we learned about Abraham, who taught us what it really means to walk by faith.
What we often don’t think about is the fact that Abraham was wealthy by the standards of his day. Yet, at seventy-five, God asked him to leave his wealth and his comfort and go to a city that He would show him. Abraham knew that meant living in tents, inconvenience, and hard work. He had to trust God.
But Abraham believed God! God made him wealthier, and more famous than he could have been had he stayed and not obeyed God. Today millions of people still call Abraham the Father of their Faith. Abraham became truly effective by his walk, and as a result, God made him famous. Abraham wasn’t seeking fame, but fame followed him because of his willingness to follow God’s plan.
Do you want to be famous? Or, do you want to be effective?” Greatness is already in you. All you have to do is believe it. God wants to give you influence, power and prosperity like Abraham. When we become a blessing, we can become a blessing to others. You can do it. You just have to start!
I have been encouraging my husband to fill himself with the Word more and not to feel overwhelmed by not having a job, shortage of food, money, etc. – that together we need to fight the good fight of faith against depression and to stay focused on God’s finished results. Little did I know that my mother prayed over her tithe for my husband to have peace and a job. A few days later my husband’s co-worker from his last job called him to see if he would be interested in part time work and my husband started back to work. He received his first paycheck just in time to pay rent!
I am so grateful to be given the opportunity to sow seed to our God by volunteering in the church office. It means so much to be able to ‘serve’ and be part of fulfilling His Great Commission and to be able to learn from our ministry staff while serving.
My position was eliminated at work. Since then I have been what the state calls “under-employed”. Since that time we as a family have trusted God to provide for our family. He has never failed us in the past; I new He wouldn’t stop now. As the head of our house I knew I just needed to be more diligent to keep the door shut to the devil and do my part through obeying the Word.
During this time we have received 3 brand new tires (from Discount Tire) for FREE!!! We have had numerous gifts of money, food, clothes and even sports paid for by unexpected sources. We have learned to live frugally, yet still been able to be a blessing to those around us.
Most recently, our mortgage was 2.5 months behind, our car payments were 2 months behind and had a credit card in collections for a year. The Holy Spirit directed me on a Sunday to go to a very fiscally responsible member of my family and ask for help and totally turn over all control of our finances as extra accountability because I wasn’t always spending the little we had very wisely.
I called my relative that Sunday after my quiet time, gave all my financials to that person on Tuesday. On Wednesday I received a phone call from the credit card collection company and they offered to start up the automatic payments again (just the week before they had refused to continue with the automatic payments that I had been paying for a year, insisting on payment in full or not at all). On Saturday, I received a $500 gift from an unexpected source. Sunday, our family tithed on the paycheck and the extra we received for that week; also we prayed Malachi 3:10 over the envelope before putting it into the basket. On Monday, I received notification that we would be receiving $880 from another unexpected source. Truly God is supplying all of our needs as we obey Him. I can’t wait to see what He does this week.
I want to add, I had to make some personal adjustments in regards to both relationships and my behavior, but I did it quickly and have quickly been rewarded for it. Thank You Father! He isn’t partial. Obey the Word, don’t question or analyze it, “Just Do It”.
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With all the negative emphasis on the economy today I feel strongly compelled to share this brief testimony on how God and his Word hold true and how God has empowered us to prosper in any economy and differentiate us from the world.
A little while ago Pastor Dino was encouraging the congregation to consider supporting the Come Home to Life television program. I was moved in my spirit and committed myself to giving an offering from the profit from my business. I wrote out a giving envelope and put it on my desk as a reminder knowing it would be months before all the tax papers would come from the accountant for the year end financials. This year I was able to write the check for a tithe of our profit. The check was only for $900.00 but I sewed it in belief that God would give me a 100 fold return for my commitment. In the following month we had our best month ever and reaped a 100% return generating $90,000.00 in gross sales for the month.
Despite the economy, we had a record year (which is hard to do after 14 years of being in business). And although the economy has fallen to record lows, we will once again have a record year exceeding our sales from last year. I believe that our success in this economy is directly related to my commitment to tithing. Even though I still miss the mark (often) He is faithful to his Word.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Scripture confirmed by:
He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
My husband had been off work several times in the last few years. His last job was with a public school and at the beginning of the summer he was told he would not be called back the next year. With 3 of our largest bills due in August/September we had no idea where the money would come from. Until this point we had always been able to make all of our payments and the idea of not having the money was overwhelming. Our savings was gone, empty, depleted, there was no more money. We went over our budget and the numbers said there was no money and when the bills came we would not be able to pay them. In July my husband still did not have a job. But we tithe faithfully and do our best to be good stewards with our money.
I closed my eyes laid my hands on the bills and asked God to make a way for us to pay them on time. That afternoon when I returned to work from my lunch break there was an envelope on my desk. Inside was a check in the amount that we needed to cover all three bills plus a little extra. All the time that I had wasted thinking about the bills not being paid, God had been working it out so that everyone in my office got a bonus that same day. At the end of summer my husband had a new job with a school closer to home. He has since been promoted and is making more money then he did at his old job.