WHOOO is this little visitor who set off the security alarm by flying into the Courtyard at UCC one night recently? We gently opened the doors and set him free the next day. Although owls mean many things to many people, we like the Native American tradition that says the owl represents “mystical insight,” because s/he can see through the dark. We can call him the “Owly Spirit!”
link for “We tithe, so we prosper! — You can, too!” — Click here for insights about how practicing universal mystical prosperity principles has seen our Church through many a “dark night” into a brighter day!
Tithing:
“Throughout the Old Testament the tithe or tenth is mentioned as a reasonable and just return to the Lord by way of acknowledging Him as the source of supply. After Jacob had seen the vision of the ladder with angels ascending and descending on it he set up a pillar and made a vow to the Lord, saying, ‘Of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.’ In the 3d chapter of Malachi we find God’s blessing directly connected with faithfulness in giving to the Lord’s treasury, but gifts should be made because it is right and because one loves to give, not from a sense of duty or for the sake of reward.
That there will be a reward following the giving we are also assured by Jesus in a direct promise ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give unto your bosom. For with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again’ (Luke 6:38).
Promises of spiritual benefits and increase of God’s bounty through the keeping of this divine law of giving and receiving, abound in all the Scriptures . . . . ‘He that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully’ (II Corinthians 9:6).
. . . . One of the greatest incentives to generous giving is a keen appreciation of the blessings secured to us . . . . ‘Freely ye received, freely give.’ True giving is the love and generosity of the Spirit-quickened heart responding to the love and generosity of the Father’s heart.
Without giving the soul shrivels, but when giving is practiced as a part of Christian living, the soul expands . . . .
Giving is a grace that adds to the spiritual growth of all men in all times. Without giving the soul shrivels, but when giving is practiced as a part of Christian living, the soul expands . . . in the grace of liberality and generosity. . . . Perhaps no simpler way to begin one’s growth in the grace of giving can be suggested for our own day. Those who have followed this method have usually found that they had more money to give than they had thought possible.
In order that the plan of giving may be successful there are several things that must be observed. First there must be a willing mind . . . . ‘God loveth a cheerful giver’ (II Cor. 9:7). Secondly, the giving must be done in faith, and there must be no withholding because the offering seems small . . . .
This same truth is set forth beautifully in the New Testament, where it is clearly shown that not the amount of the offering but the spirit in which it is given determines its value and power . . . . [The] poor widow exemplified what it is to give in faith; and were ever two mites so great a gift as when they brought forth such praise from the Master Himself! The results of giving in faith are just as sure in this age as in the time of Jesus, for the law is unfailing in all ages.
A third requisite for keeping the law of giving and receiving is that the offering shall be a just and fair proportion of all that one receives . . . . There is a certain definiteness about this, and yet it admits of freedom for the giver to exercise his individual faith, judgment, and will . . . . True spiritual giving rewards with a double joy: first that which comes with the laying of the gift upon the altar or in the Lord’s treasury; then the joy of sharing our part of God’s bounty with others. One of the blessings is the satisfying knowledge that we are meeting the law and paying our debt of love and justice to the Lord. The other is the joy of sharing the Lord’s bounty. Justice comes first; then generosity . . . . This privilege carries immeasurable benefits with it, for it looses us from the personal life, unifies us with the universal, and so opens our inner and outer life to the inflow and the outflow of the life, love, bounty and grace of God. This is the blessed result of faithful obedience to the law and exercise of the grace of giving . . . . The message of Malachi is for us quite as much as for the ancients. The Spirit of God gave this message through the prophet: ‘Bring ye the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now herewith, saith Jehovah of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it ‘ (Malachi 3:10). Study this 3d chapter of Malachi carefully if you would know the happy solution of the problem of giving and receiving. See how practical it is for people in every walk of life . . . . It is a simple law but so effective: simply give a tithe or tenth or the ‘first-fruits’ or their equivalent to the Lord . . . . The act of giving complies with the divine law, because it involves the recognition of God as the giver of all increase; and unless we have a recognition of the source of our supply we have no assurance of continuing in its use . . . . There is a psychological reason why people should obey spiritual law. When a person obeys the law of God along any line, [our] faith immediately becomes strengthened in proportion and [our] doubts disappear. When [we put] God first in [our] finances, not only in thought but in every act, by releasing [our] first fruits (a tenth part of [our] increase or income) to the Lord, [our] faith in omnipresent supply becomes a hundredfold stronger and [everyone] prospers accordingly. Obeying this law gives [us] an inner knowing that [we are] building [our] finances on a sure foundation that will not fail [us].
Everything in the universe belongs to God, and though all things are for the use and enjoyment of [hu]man[ity], [we] can possess nothing selfishly. When [we] learn that a higher law than human custom and desire is working in the earth to bring about justice, righteousness, and equalization, [we] will begin to obey that law by tithing, loving [our] neighbor, and doing unto others as [we] would have them do unto [us]. Then [we] . . . will become healthy, prosperous, and happy.
. . . . The tithing principle can be applied in all of our industrial and social relationships. In every case where it has been applied and followed for a time, the tither has been remarkably blessed . . . . The tithe may be a tenth part of one’s salary, wage, or allowance, of the net profits of business, or of money received from the sale of goods. It is based on every form of supply, no matter through what channel it may come, for there are many channels through which [we are] prospered. The tenth should be set apart for the upkeep of some spiritual work or workers. It should be set apart first even before one’s personal expenses are taken out, for in the right relation of things God comes first always. Then everything else follows in divine order and falls into its proper place.
The great promise of prosperity is that if [we] seek God and His righteousness first, then all shall be added unto [us]. One of the most practical and sensible ways of seeking God’s kingdom first is to be a tither, to put God first in finances. It is the promise of God, the logical thing to do, and the experience of all who have tried it, that all things necessary to their comfort, welfare, and happiness have been added to them in an overflowing measure. Tithing establishes method in giving and brings into the consciousness a sense of order and fitness that will be manifested in one’s outer life and affairs as increased efficiency and greater prosperity. Another blessing that follows the practice of tithing is the continual ‘letting go’ of what one receives, which keeps one’s mind open to the good and free from covetousness. Making an occasional large gift and then permitting a lapse of time before another is made will not give this lasting benefit, for one’s mind channel may in the meantime become clogged with material thoughts of fear, lack, or selfishness. When a person tithes he is giving continuously, so that no spirit of grasping, no fear, and no thought of limitations gets a hold on him. There is nothing that keeps a person’s mind so fearless and so free to receive the good constantly coming to him as the practice of tithing. Each day, week, pay day, whenever it is, the tither gives one tenth. When an increase of prosperity comes to [us], as come it will and does, [our] first thought is to give God the thanks and the tenth of the new amount. The free, open mind thus stayed on God is certain to bring forth joy, real satisfaction in living, and true prosperity. Tithing is based on a law that cannot fail, and it is the surest way ever found to demonstrate plenty, for it is God’s own law and way of giving . . . .
Let us give as God gives, unreservedly, and with no thought of return, making no mental demands for recompense on those who have received from us . . . . There is no promise of increase unless we give freely, let go of the gift entirely, and recognize the universal scope of the law. Then the gift has a chance to go out and to come back multiplied. There is no telling how far the blessing may travel before it comes back, but it is a beautiful and encouraging fact that the longer it is in returning, the more hands it is passing through and the more hearts it is blessing. All these hands and hearts add something to it in substance, and it is increased all the more when it does return . . . . The law will bring each of us just what is his own, the reaping of the seeds he has sown. The return will come, for it cannot escape the law, though it may quite possibly come through a very different channel from what we expect . . . . [When we give] with no thought of reward and no other motive than love, [we are] thrown more completely into the inevitable operation of the law and [our] return is all the more certain. [We are] inevitably enriched and cannot escape it. Jesus said, ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.’ He was not merely making a promise but stating a law that never fails to function.
So inexhaustible is the bounty of the Giver of all good that to him who has eyes to see it and faith to receive it God is an unfailing source of supply. The munificent Giver withholds nothing from [one] who comes in the name of a [child] and heir and lays claim to [ones] portion. It is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom, and all that the Father has is ours. But we must have the faith and the courage to claim it.
. . . . Those who would accomplish great things in the demonstration of spiritual resources must have faith to lay hold of the divine ideas and the courage to speak them into expression. The conception must be followed by the affirmation that the law is instantly fulfilled. Then the supply will follow in manifestation.” — Charles Fillmore, Cofounder of the Unity Movement, in Prosperity, 1936.