Session 1

How to Start Getting More from Your Finances

From Getting More Out of Giving In: A 3-Day Devotional About Money

If you’ve ever given to a university, political party, or charity, you’ve seen this principle hold true. It’s one thing to agree with a cause, but when we start giving our time and money, we move from casual supporter to advocate. As we become financially invested in a cause, our passion grows deeper.

Where we invest our money, we invest our hearts (Matthew 6:21-24). That’s one reason tithing matters so much to Jesus. When we asked Jesus into our lives, we asked Him to be our Savior and Lord. To make someone Lord is to give that person control of everything—our time, our money, and our relationships. Jesus is either Lord of all or He is not Lord at all.

Bringing our tithe to the church shows Jesus we value Him above our stuff and we trust Him to provide for us. Tithing is not the church wanting our money; it’s Jesus teaching us to overcome greed and put Him first.

Tithing can seem scary—most big steps of faith are. There will be moments when you feel pressure to spend that money on other things. But God promises in Malachi 3:10-12 that when we bring the whole tithe—the first 10 percent of our income—back to the church, He will pour out so much blessing that we will not have room for it.

Jesus doesn’t want something from us; He wants something for us. He wants us to experience a deeper relationship with Him, blessing from God, and the peace of knowing He provides. But we can’t have any of those things if He doesn’t fully have our hearts.  

Until our wallets are fully surrendered to God, our walk with Jesus will always have a limp. So if we want to surrender our finances to Jesus, we have to start by taking God at His word and bringing our tithe to the church.

Reflect:

• What’s your next step in surrendering your finances to Jesus?

Follow Jennifer’s Lead:

• Jennifer Johnson was down to her last few dollars and cents, and she wondered whether giving God such a small amount really mattered to Him. God answered her prayer that day. Read Jennifer's story to find out how.