Mel and I have recently plunged back into marketing our books, uploading more to Amazon, and basically learning new ways of reaching prospective readers as we pursue the independent publishing dream.

At church, we have been learning, yet again, about giving.

Now, we’re definitely hoping to make enough income with this writing that Mel will be able to retire from the  stressful work of being an emergency physician. So as we save for that long awaited retirement, we also know that even though it is counterintuitive logically, the more we give, the more blessed we are by God. We learned this many years ago when I accidentally wrote an extra zero on our tithe check.  I didn’t panic, but I was a little concerned. I needn’t have been. You might think that accidentally giving so much to God wouldn’t count with Him, but lo and behold, I had just uploaded three titles to Amazon not long before, and that amount I had written on the check? That’s what entered our account our next pay period for the books we had uploaded.

And so I took a chance and did it again. And again. We had been studying a course in church about the rewards of tithing, and I was able to tell others that, despite myself, I had given and had not suffered for it at all. In fact, we had made more than expected. Much more.

But time moves on and we forget and life seems harder than it used to be. And we have to be reminded all over again that God does see to our needs. Giving to God is an act of faith–it is faith in action, for sure. It’s hard. We scramble and scrape and build our nest egg–which right now might well be dropping by the thousands in the stock market–and we feel that surely God will understand if we just hold a little more out for ourselves because life seems a little out of control and we really need to have that for what is to come.

What we don’t understand is that He doesn’t need our money. He needs us to have enough faith to give Him that money and know that He will multiply it in the best way possible. That might not be financially, or it might be. It could be any number of ways, but in all things, it is for our good and His glory.

Now, we can make the decision that we will give such-and-such amount of money, and then as soon as we get that number in our heads, guess who comes along and places questions there. Satan makes us doubt. Maybe even our own human nature makes us doubt, but I believe evil is in there somewhere.

If you are inclined to give to God, then give and don’t look back. Remember the abundant blessings He will send your way as you give. Remember the care He will show as you give. If you aren’t a regular church attender,  give to the Jesus Film Project. It is our favorite mission. It reaches people all over the world in their own language and typically, every dollar spent is a soul saved.

Try it once. See if God doesn’t shower you with more blessings than you could imagine. Try it again and see how God supports you. Try it every week or every month. Set aside an account just for tithing and offerings.

I have a neighbor whom I cannot out-give. I’ve told you about Sherry previously. She is always there to help and give. We went out to eat the other day and she drove. Then we went shopping at the one store in town with cute things. I had decided to buy her a gift. Well, she bought ME a gift. I cannot out-give her. I see the Spirit of Christ in her.

If my neighbor Sherry can be such a giver, can you imagine how much more so our Lord is? Try Him. Test His faithfulness. I believe if you haven’t already been doing so, you will be enthralled at what God can do with what you give. May you be blessed with His richest blessings!