Try It

I apologize for Friday and Monday’s absence. I had a passage and thought ready to email you on Friday (with a notice to tell you that I would be out of town and unable to send you one on Monday); but it turns out I was unable to email you on Friday as well. So, here is the passage I was going to encourage you to read ... Psalm 136:1-9. It is a great resource you can use to prepare for and endure a crisis. Try using it as a template for writing out a personal prayer.

This past weekend, Jonathan concluded our series, “Never Waste A Crisis” by looking at the one time God invites us to challenge Him. This week, we are going to review that challenge and look at some other passages where we get a glimpse of God’s heart concerning our (His) resources.

Before you read this passage, remember that this is really a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience ... God is offering you an opportunity to do something He would normally discourage (check out Deuteronomy 6:16 or Matthew 4:7).


Malachi 3
6 “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.
7 Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’
8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.
9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “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 the test!
11 Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
12 “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.


Try it. Remember, the challenge Jonathan gave was to increase our giving by 1% over the next 90 days. For those of you that have never tried giving, I pray God gives you the courage to take a chance. For those of you that feel tied up financially, I pray God frees some of those resources and reveals to you the possibility of giving. For those of you that don’t currently have any income, I pray God opens a new stream of resources that offers you the opportunity to give. For those of you that already give, I pray God helps you overcome any complacency that would prevent you from becoming more and more generous. Mostly, I pray God helps you develop a heart for living generously. Like Jonathan, I can only tell you that I have been blessed by giving; but you have to try it for yourself.