Tithing—I believe every Christian should do it. So, is it Biblical? The whole issue seems to be really gray among followers of Christ. Likely the problem isn’t with Scripture – likely the problem is me.  As I said last week, when it comes to giving the tithe, I was raised believing it was what God commanded – and if I loved Him, I did what He asked with a joyful heart. On the one hand maybe that’s my upbringing. Recently, I had a guy say to me in an introduction to membership class: “Tithing, are you kidding, that is ‘law’ and in Christ, we’re no longer under the Law – that’s legalism!”

It made me start to dig… here’s a start.

The form of tithing most often addressed in Scripture is “tithing as covenant.” This practice of tithing was specific to Israel as the covenant people of God. It was part of the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 27:30-33; Numbers 18:21-32; Deuteronomy 14:22-29). Under the Covenant, God promised to tangibly bless Israel for obedience and, conversely, to judge them for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28 and Malachi 3:8-12).¹

Okay, fine. That was then…but, in Christ, this is now. Don’t we live under a new covenant?

Our lives are not governed by the written code but by the indwelling Holy Spirit who writes His “law”on our hearts (Galatians 5:18; Hebrews 8:7-13). In Jesus’ day, it was the religious leaders who practiced this perversion of Israel’s covenant tithe. Christ’s condemnation of legalistic tithing was absolute: “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!” (Matthew 23:23-24)

What God intends, is

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I grew up in the church – in fact, in the home of a pastor. So for me, the local church has been my life, my “home away from home.” I loved it because it was a multi-generational gathering of people who encouraged, mentored, and loved each other – almost informally, even amid the obvious differences. From a nursery with cribs to a senior adult Sunday School class (that only lost attendance when one of the members “went on to glory” and not when those new-fangled “Gaither choruses” replaced a number of hymns sung), there was something that felt “right” about the cradle to grave expanse of the local church. It provided parents a place for the accountability of infant dedication, education of elementary-aged kids through adult education classes, weekly fellowship, a place to bear one another’s burdens, and a gathering time called Sunday Morning Worship (or Children’s church when I was younger) that celebrated God, and told us that our calling was to reach the lost…to grow the church through conversions.

Para-Church Origins

That was then, this is now. Just a quick perusing through the “yellow pages” or web search demonstrates how many specialized Christian organizations there are today. Church History tells us that, for the most part, para-church organizations (parallel “at or to one side of, beside, side by side” - to the church) began in the early decades of the 20th century when the local church began to drop the ball.  Secular philosophy, spiritual anemia, poor leadership, locked-in traditions, and more were keeping the church from making

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I met this morning with three young men who want to deepen their relationship with God.  We are so determined, it was decided we would meet at 6:00 a.m.!  Somehow I think that God is going to honor that passion and discipline.  It was refreshing for me to hear the desire each one had for greater intimacy with God.  We also talked about how to “keep the passion” from being choked out or becoming stagnant - as it has often in our spiritual lives. 

The first issue we talked about was the challenge of living a simplified lifestyle.  It seems that it doesn’t take long in the corporate environment to become absorbed with “muchness” and “manyness” (Richard Foster’s words).  Our prayer became that God would keep us balanced and focused on what He wants for our lives and not just what materialism can obtain. 

The other issue that resonated was the danger of getting comfortable.  Peter Lundell suggests that this happens because our God is “too small.”  J.B. Chapman wrote, “the trouble with many people today is that they have not found a God big enough for modern needs.  While their… horizons have been expanded to the point of bewilderment by world events and by scientific discoveries, their ideas of God have remained largely static.”  Is that true for you?  I know it can be for me all too often.  Praying “Jabez-sized” (big faith) prayers are a challenge, especially when we get use to praying for small things that are easily answered by medicine, time, study, money, or human effort. 

It seems that there are two things that are the catalytic events that increase our prayer lives.  One is tragedy or pain.  Nothing moves us to God-dependency like those things.  Yet, what about the other thing, the more exciting thing – which is

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The largest church in the world is in South Korea.  Several years ago I had the privilege of attending Yoddi Full Gospel Assembly where 850,000 are members. Their worship center seats over 26,000.  You can listen to the service being translated in 16 different languages.  It is an amazing place. That aside, the one thing that came through over and again was the dedication to prayer in that church.  They own an entire mountain with caves where people go away to fast and pray for days in a row.  In the early morning hours, all over the nation, people turn out by the thousands to pray at 6:00 a.m.  And when you sit in the “visitors balcony” the one other thing strikes you first, is the sea of thousands of jet black heads of hair, bobbing forward and back in fervent prayer before the service begins. 

The reason for the growth of the church is seeded in people who have learned to tenaciously and diligently listen for the voice of God…and when they hear, they move in obedience to His voice.  Being desperate to hear His voice and know His presence is a daily way of life. 

Peter Lundell [1] warns, “That kind of fervency can fall asleep under a blanket of complacency – the calm, secure, sense of satisfaction with our lot in life, the feeling that everything is okay (or at least tolerable) and we’ve little need to strive for anything.  Complacency is perilous to believers.”    The only way to overcome complacency is through a regularly renewing hunger for God.

So, to keep passion from choking or stagnating, Lundell suggests two things.  First,

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Yesterday I was working-out with a personal trainer (better known as a task-master) at the gym.  About half way through the work out I was completely spent…not one more push-up in my body.  I kept embarrassingly saying aloud “I wonder why I feel so weak today?”  Truth is, my physical weakness from several days of fasting, was a reminder of how often I have found myself feeling spiritually “weak” because of the lack of a spiritually nutritious diet.    

Spiritual strength comes from feasting on the Word and spending time exercising prayer muscles, not just denying ourselves.  Self denial has a place in the spiritual life, but it is not as an end in itself.  As an accompanying discipline with prayer, meditation, and Bible reading it can help increase our awareness of God’s Truth - that He cares for and loves us and that if we diligently seek Him, He is ready, waiting, and longing to be found. 

Let me offer you a related reminder.  When we feast on the Word and on intimacy with God through prayer, those healthy spiritual parts of our diet are not just for our own strengthening but are given as a precious gift so that we can be used by God to further the work of His Kingdom in this world.  So while you pray and fast make sure you are also asking God to give you spiritual eyes and renewed strength to reach out to the least, last, and lost in our world.   When you feast with others in mind, God will open your eyes and guide you to not only see, but touch the world around you.

The New Church Specialties website encourages:

“Don’t be discouraged if spiritual breakthroughs do not come immediately. Paul reminds us,

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Mat 5:6

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” 

I’ve mentioned it before, but I love to point out that this verse doesn’t say, “blessed are those who are righteous”, but rather, “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”. 

Consider these thoughts from S.J. Hill in his book, “Enjoying God: Experiencing Intimacy With the Heavenly Father”:

“Hunger and thirst are physical sensations which in their acute stages may become real pain. It has been the experiences of countless seekers after God that when their desires became a pain they were suddenly and wonderfully filled. The problem is not to persuade God to fill us, but to want God sufficiently to permit Him to do so. The average christian is so… content with his… condition that there is no vacuum of desire into which the blessed Spirit can rush in satisfying fulness.”

The psalmist understood this ‘vacuum of desire’:

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My morning without food was one that reminded me that God is my source…and how much I hear and see when I break my routine and feast even more on His Word.  Not breaking-fast this morning became a time of clarity and real listening… more so than most mornings when I read and pray.  As I wrote and worked on things for the weekend, I sensed the Lord speaking, not new, but fresh things into my spirit.  Some old Truth took on new meaning. 

Later in the day, God blessed me with a brother from CrossRoads who came to share the story of God’s faithfulness during some times of real challenge for him and His family.  I loved it when he said, “I found that I had to be totally ‘naked before God’ in order to walk through the door of real trust and faith – depending nothing on anything I could bring, but only on His grace and mercy to me.”  In that trust, God brought some incredible restoration and healing to his life and that of his family.  But he had to humble himself to see it happen. 

As the day progressed, thoughts about the coming weekend with the family of God at CrossRoads stirred in my mind and heart.  I am grateful for you all.  I love the family of God here!  So, let me encourage you to come ready – with anticipation - this weekend for the Gatherings (bring a friend J!).  Also make it a special point to attend the “Let it Rain” event on Sunday night at 6:00.  It will be a time of listening and sharing what God has been and is doing in the lives of His people.

Let me offer again, a few practical insights from New Church Specialties as you are deciding and learning with me in this season.  This article was titled:  Build a Schedule when Fasting.  Many people have found it helpful when they fast to

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In his book, Prayer Power, 30 Days to a Stronger Connection with God,[†] author Peter Lundell writes, “to many Christians, fasting is not an appealing discipline.  But one of its hidden virtues is that it stands up against all-too-prevalent habits of self-indulgence.  The simple act of refraining from food, or anything else, helps us grow in the maturity of rising above the incessant tendency to satisfy every perceived need.  Fasting is therapeutic for the soul” (p. 111). 

By definition, therapeutic means, “pertaining to the treating or curing of disease.”  What disease?  The disease of finding consolation or contentment in anything that is not of God.  Such a disease of distraction will hinder proper spiritual development and eventually destroy the soul.  Like many such spiritual practices, it takes acting on the discipline before the delights of God’s presence and promises are seen. 

In a broad sense, fasting “can be seen as the voluntary denial of any normal function for the sake of intensified spiritual activity” (p. 108).  I have found that for me, fasting entertainments or activities may be what puts my mind and heart in a place of sacrificial focus on God, where I might otherwise have overindulged or been distracted. 

I hope you are finding ways and times to seek the Lord during this special 40-Day season at CrossRoads.  I am thankful for the many of you who have been praying most intently and utilizing the accompanying discipline of fasting.  New Church Specialties offers these helpful insights as you continue on the journey with us:

Here are some practical, spiritual steps to take as you begin:

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Last night I talked to a wonderful young Christian mother at CrossRoads who expressed frustration because she wanted to fast, but did not know how to find the focused time she felt she needed with three young children.  

Firstly, NO ONE should feel guilt about fasting.  While it is a discipline of the spiritual life, it should not be a task-master or a guilt-inducer.  When disciplines become that, they aren’t glorifying to God or beneficial for your spiritual life.

Secondly, just take small steps.  Choose a day when you are going to fast.  Is there is one day of the week that might be better than another?  Then decide that through the activity of your day, you are going to ask God to speak to you in a unique way as you “pray without ceasing” - even in the activities.  It may be through the voice of your child of the hum of the activity around you that you hear Him as you fast.  

When you feel the hunger pangs, drink plenty of water and decide that

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I met with a young man this morning whose life has had some radical changes and significant upheaval in the past few years.  A few months back I had loaned him the book Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.  He read the chapter on Fasting and decided that his time of desperate search for peace was actually rooted in the need for an intense search for God.  With that in mind he prayed and fasted for over a week.

As we talked and prayed together early this morning, he reminded me that during that season, God did a unique work in his life that gave him a renewed peace as he sought the peace-giver.  God opened his heart to new revelations about Him - and about himself - that brought a sustainable joy to his life.  He continues to practice the discipline of fasting – though his immediate circumstances have not changed. 

Our conversation this morning reminded me of some of the instances in Scripture when people fasted.  Among the many places where fasting is

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