BLESSED IS THE MAN..........
Over the course of my reading of God's Word, I came upon the following verse found in Jeremiah 17:7 which says, "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is." The next verse, Jer. 17:8, tells us what kind of person one shall become by trusting in the Lord, "For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." I have quoted these verses aloud to myself, or quietly repeated them in my thoughts frequently, sometimes several times a day.
Once the Lord of Hosts came upon me via His Spirit that day in the kitchen of the home of my wife and I, there has never been any doubt in my mind as to the realness of His presence. I had been filled with the kind of confidence in which one knows, no matter what may come, things will work out for my benefit. This past year has been interesting to say the least.
In July of last year, I walked away from a job which I had held for about fourteen and a half years and took a job for slightly less pay at a convenience store. On my previous job, I was slated to work five days a week (but due to a month and a half of half days was only working about twenty hours a week). Initially, when I started at the store, I was slated to work twenty-six hours a week. About two weeks after I started, the manager became ill and was admitted to the hospital. Because there were now only three people actively working, I was given an additional day of work. I went from twenty-six hours a week to a thirty-six hour work week. One month after leaving the print shop, I was making more money even though I was working for less an hour because I was working more hours than on my previous job.
About four weeks past before the manager was released to come back to work. A week later the assistant manager, who had been working every day for the previous month, quit. Again, I was back to a four day work week. I worked for four days a week, due to one situation or another, for about the next six months until a replacement was found who was willing to stay. For almost eight months I made more money working somewhere else than I would have had I stayed on the job I walked away from. The company for whom I work also pays bonuses when certain situations arise and are satisfied by performance criteria. I've benefited quite well from those programs. Why? Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the only begotten Son of God. It really is just that simple.
Every paycheck, no matter how little the total net after taxes, I gave ten percent. And every time there was an initial increase in my earnings (*1), I gave that in the name of Jesus to the church. I was continually awed by the way in which God would bless me with opportunity to bring increase into my life. During the weeks where I was running short on money, I would get an order for firewood bundles or be given an opportunity to make money on the side doing something else. I also tithed on those situations. All my needs were continually being met, week after week after week. I was even able to sow into other ministries because of the extra money I was making. In late October, SJ and I began to sponsor a child through World Vision.(*2)
God really is faithful to His Word (Malachi 3:10, Proverbs 3:9,10, Proverbs 11:23,24, 2nd Corinthians 9:6-11, Matthew 7:31-33, etc., etc.) On another occasion while reading the bible, I came upon the following scripture found in the book of Acts, chapter 8:22, "Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.". I don't remember exactly why I was led to this verse and the verses before and after, but I followed up on what could be done to rectify such a situation as the one in which Simon, a man who used sorcery, found himself in after learning the truth of Jesus as preached by Peter and John. The reference scripture given is found in the fourth chapter of the book of Daniel in verse twenty-seven, "Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor;". I felt, for whatever reason, somewhat at a distance from God at the time, so I began to sow into an organization which helps poor people with their utilities and other various needs. My spirit was lifted, and the weight of the burden (whatever it was, I just don't remember) taken away.(*3)
Everything was going along just wonderfully at my job, until the day I took a customer's word that the bundle of one hundred dollar bills equaled one thousand dollars; it didn't. The bundle was a hundred dollars light. Unfortunately, the business transaction had already been concluded, and the customer had already left the the store. As it turned out, I had a one hundred dollar bill in a tithe envelope in my bible. I took the bill out of the envelope and replaced the missing one hundred dollar bill. I had purposed the bill in the tithe envelope to God, but felt forced to use it for 'the world'. I never told the customer about the incident. I did, however, learn a very important lesson the hard way; always count the money first.
The above incident happened in the first or second week of January of '05. Around Christmas, a week or so before the beginning of the new year, I had received a gift check for two hundred fifty dollars. I had also accumulated, through bonuses and holiday pay, the best paycheck since working at the store. I was so thrilled with the thought of being able to give for the first time over a hundred dollars in tithe to the church. A few days after the new year, I was watching "Paula White Today". During her half hour presentation, she suggested giving an offering to God of one's first week of earnings, proposing prosperity to the giver for the rest of the year (I assume an interpretation of the law of first fruits); I scoffed at the idea.(*4) I thought to myself, "maybe you can since your earnings greatly exceed mine, but I certainly couldn't afford to do something like that."
The seed had been planted, doubt. Paula's words bugged me for a few days after hearing her message. A week or so later, the incident with the customer who shorted me one hundred dollars, purposely or by accident (I don't know), happened. However, because I had purposed in my heart to give the three figure tithe to the Lord, I felt obligated to make good on the pledge. You see, it wasn't the doubting of Paula White's interpretation of God's Word. It was the seed of doubt which I had let take root in my heart as to God's ability to bless me had I followed through with her suggestion.
In March a replacement was hired and stayed just long enough for my scheduled hours to be reduced to two days a week (the third day also being cut from my work schedule due to seasonal slow down). It was starting to get tough, but I continued to tithe. Not only was I tithing, but I finally came to the conclusion that I should tithe on my gross earnings instead of my net. Finally, near the end of March, the last person to take the open position stayed. There were many a day when I got on my knees and said to God, "I won't quit". Even though things were starting to get a little tight financially, I remembered all too well the state of my emotional being about the same time in the previous year. I did not want to go back to those days.
I knew, all things being as originally intended, the third day would be cut from my work schedule in the winter. But I was also told I would have the day added back to my schedule at the end of March. By the end of April, promises aside, I was still only working two days a week plus whatever I was able to make in firewood sales. About a week or so before Easter, I was watching "This Is Your Day" hosted by Benny Hinn. He had as a guest a pastor of another church well known to those ministering by television. This fellow, whose name I remember but won't mention, suggested a person should make a Passover offering to the Lord. He gave certain scriptures which suggested such an offering was given even in the new testament after Jesus had ascended into heaven and also suggested certain blessings would come to the giver. Unlike Paula White, I wasn't quite sure if this guy's suggestion had any validity or not, so I spoke to a couple of pastors in my area about the idea. Their thoughts on the subject echoed my own feelings regarding the idea of a Passover offering, but I just couldn't come to a point of assuredness. So on Resurrection Sabbath, I made an offering to the Lord. It was the best I could give considering what I had to give. Within two weeks, I was blessed with meeting a man of God who, to date, has blessed me with about ten times the amount of my offering on Resurrection Sabbath.
April was just not a very good month. The fellow, whose acquaintance I have been blessed with, didn't have any work for me to do for almost the entire month of April due to an abundance of rain in the area on the days I was available to work for him, and his own personal schedule. Again, my own finances were getting tight. I was looking for a tax refund check to come any day around mid to late April. I received my store pay check on the 23rd of April and had it spent by the 26th. I received the refund check on the 27th. About a year and half or so ago, I remembered Joel Olstein (Houston, TX) delivering a sermon on giving entitled, "Have a Need, Sow a Seed". He stated that one should give to another what one wants to receive from God. One part of me wanted to keep that check, but an even greater part of me wanted to be faithful and trust God. So on Thursday, I purposed in my heart to give the check to the organization that helps the poor with their own financial needs. The next day, with the amount of the check and only one dollar left from my last pay check, I walked just over a mile one way to the post office and sent the money to the organization.
Beginning on Monday of the week following, I worked for the fellow I hadn't done any work for in the previous four weeks, got a lawn mowing job, received an order for wood, and received a check for work I had done on the side two weeks prior. I got back in the next week every dollar I sent to the organization the week before. But more importantly, the mowing job would be on an as needed basis for the rest of the year. The first week of May I received another mowing job and managed to work a couple of days for the one fellow. God is GOOD!!
I hope I have impressed upon you, by my own desire to be faithful to the Word of God, that God does want to bless you even as He has blessed me. But it is imperative that one be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and walk by faith. I do not believe one can do so without, on a daily basis, spending time in prayer and reading God's Word. Unless you can so relate to what I have thus far written regarding my experiences, you can not begin to imagine how God will bless you. His Word will open up unto you in ways you would never have considered. The Lord Jehovah will fill you with a peace that is lasting, position you to receive financial, health, and spiritual opportunities, and give you the kind of faith to believe it is all possible for you. However, none of these things will come unto you without first accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. Oh, you may enjoy for a time some of these things, but I'll bet they've become elusive to you during certain times in your life. Through Jesus, all these things will be given unto you if you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And if you stay faithful to God's Word, God's blessing will continue to come upon you.
Since June 24th, I have not spoken with or worked for the one fellow for whom I had been working on days I wasn't working at the store. In the week prior to July 4th weekend, my schedule was changed. An additional eight hours of work was added to my work schedule at the store. A question to any skeptics, how many times are you going to suggest it is all just coincidence before you're willing to admit to the possibility of an entirely different answer? By my own personal experiences, I am living proof of Romans 8:28. Praise be to God for His goodness and faithfulness to His Word!
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
(*1) I have actively practiced the law of 'first fruits' since August of 2003. Anything, be it an increase in pay, bonuses, or even vegetables from my garden, from which I receive an addition to an already established situation or the proceeds from a new opportunity is given to the Lord first. I have found, by experience, I will continue to receive if I give the first and/or the best to the Lord. I have never heard a clear teaching on the subject of first fruits. One day while reading God's Word I came across Proverbs 3:9,10. My faith in God is based upon the literal meaning of His Word. Anytime I come upon a place in His Word where He says to do something, or not do something, I do my best to apply it to my faith walk. That doesn't mean however, that I am always successful, but at least I try.
(*2) In my reading of the Book of Psalms I came upon a scripture which stated that children are a blessing unto the Lord. However, SJ and I have no children. So I asked God if there was some way we could influence the life of a child which wasn't our own. I prayed about it. I also asked God to provide me with the means to continually support such a child if it was His Will for us to do so. How we came to sponsor a child in Central America is a story in itself.
(*3) Once I learned Jeremiah 17:8 and began to really think about the scripture, one particular line in the verse started to become a focal point for me near the end of last year......"and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." I began to wonder just what "year of drought" really entailed. I believe the scripture is referring to those times when nothing seems to be going one's way (similar to my own financial experience in the first three months of '05) in a physical sense, yet because one knows one is truly blessed, even when one's resources seemingly dry up, one will bear fruit for God's kingdom.
(*4) I have made mention of Paula White in the past. I believe there is a true anointing on Paula's life. If you've ever heard her story prior to coming to the place where she is now, I don't believe one can help but believe God is working through her. I've been touched by the Spirit of God after listening to Paula on more than one occasion. That being said, there have been times when I've wondered about some of her teachings, however, my wondering could also be due to a lack of my own spiritual maturity.
In the name of Jesus, for the glory of God
Peace be with you. |
