In 1981 Ronald Reagan mentioned the following story in his inaugural address.
Martin Treptow left his job in a small town barbershop in 1917 to go France with the famed Rainbow Division. On the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire. We're told that on his body was found a diary.
On the flyleaf under the heading "My Pledge," he had written these words: "America must win this war. Therefore I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone."
Reagan went on:
The crisis we are facing today...[requires] our best effort and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds; to believe that together, with God's help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us. And, after all, why shouldn't we believe that? We are Americans.
We are still in crisis and give God our utmost as if the whole struggle depends on us.
The Jews restored some of Israel's most significant elements after their captivity. They rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem under the supervision of Nehemiah. The people restored the temple thanks in part to Haggai and Zechariah. Ezra led the reinstitution of the priesthood. Yet, the glory of God was absent because the people either forgot Him or their heart was not in the work.
As you read the book of Malachi, you will notice an array of sins. The priests went through the motions of serving God and profaned His name. Their judgments were not impartial, divorce was widespread, families were in disarray, and the people were practicing the wickedness that led them into captivity in the first place.
As we mentioned, God wanted them to return to Him according to Malachi 3:7. He had not given up on them as they had on Him. He gets more focused with them, points out some of their issues, and the way back to a relationship with Him. The people and priests were robbing God, not just regarding the sacrifices and offerings, but of His glory and honor. Notice Malachi 3:8-15 (NKJV):
8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the LORD of hosts;
12 “And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the LORD of hosts.
13 “Your words have been harsh against Me,” Says the LORD, “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’
14 You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God; What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, And that we have walked as mourners Before the LORD of hosts?
15 So now we call the proud blessed, For those who do wickedness are raised up; They even tempt God and go free.’ ”
God is not in the fundraising business and doesn’t need our money. He owns everything and can create more like the US Treasury printing money, except His creation has value. The straightforward truth is that God does not want our money. He wants us.
He told the Jews (and us) to give to Him as He instructs, in the proper amount and attitude. He tells us that if we deliver to Him, He will provide for us. In so doing, He develops our trust in Him. Too often, we hold back our contributions to Him, thinking we are losing money in our gifts.
Paul addresses the two issues of amount and attitude in 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (NKJV):
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of ]necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
First, we give according to how God prospers us. Abram gave Melchizedek 10% of the bounty from the war with the kings who kidnapped Lot. No one told him an amount to give. He gave a generous amount. Second, we give with Abram’s attitude of cheerfulness. He did not begrudge his gift to God. He welcomed the opportunity to give.
We have a great potential to receive the outpouring of heaven based on our actions and attitude. God gives us more than free cell phones and food from the government. If we have the right spirit and give wholeheartedly to Him, He will give us all we need and more! He even challenges us to put Him to the test about it.
Don’t think we can add a few dollars to the donation box and receive a windfall as if we invested in a sure thing in the stock market. This is a higher calling. This giving is separated from the desire to receive. Its sole purpose is to honor God abundantly, believing He will care for us.
The men who signed the Declaration of Independence were “all in.” They signed that document with a “firm reliance on Providence (God)” and pledged their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” to the cause of God-ordained liberty. Most of those men suffered hardships throughout the War for Independence, yet look at what their efforts produced, the most blessed nation in the history of the world.
What if Christian Americans today were as committed to God and His cause as they were? What if we pledged all that we had to Him and His purposes? His cause would go forward without restraint, and He would reward us as He did Israel and our forefathers according to His promises. As Pastor Bill Hybels said years ago, “If it is in the word, it should be in the world.” Hybels’ saying applies here, too.
We are talking about commitment and trust as we seek the kingdom of God first. Let’s . . .
Keep The Light of Giving God Our Full Devotion Burning!
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