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Day 273, or September the 30th. Give God the

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benefit of the doubt. Our thoughts today are

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from Malachi chapter 3, verse 10. Bring the whole

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tithe into the storehouse, that there may be

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food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord

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Almighty. and see if I will not throw open the

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floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing

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that there will not be room enough to store it.

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And now the big picture surrounding this verse. As

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the last prophet in the Old Testament, Malachi

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makes sure that he gives the people what God

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is saying as straight as he knows how. He challenges

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them to stop robbing God and try playing fair

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with him. and he guarantees God will respond

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so positively that they will wonder why they

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didn't do it years ago. And now today's action

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step. When push comes to shove, and we put things

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to the test, they often fail miserably. I know

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I have been the source of many people's disappointment,

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but I am equally sure so have you. In fact, I

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don't know anyone who hasn't. Thankfully, God

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is a forgiving God, so I don't need to dwell

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on our shortcomings because He doesn't. God tells

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His people, through the prophet Malachi, to test

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Him. Sadly, it seems very few of them did, and

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the following 400 years are a barren wilderness

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when God says nothing. Considering our verse

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today, it's too easy to slip into the controversy

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of tithing. I don't believe that this is the

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core idea or the main teaching of this verse.

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I believe that Malachi is simply telling the

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people that when they give God his due, with

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the right attitude, they will never regret it.

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I have sympathy for those who see this as purely

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financial and never get any further, but it's

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so much more than that. We are to give God the

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time he is due, the effort he is due, the obedience

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he is due. the worship he is due, and of course,

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the finance he is due, but that comes inevitably

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when the other dues have been honoured. Trust

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God more each day, and begin today, and you will

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be amazed why you didn't do it years ago.