Please welcome blogger Anum Yoon as she shares her thoughts on the personal and spiritual benefits of tithing.
Hidden Nuggets Series #86 – “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi 3:10)
Giving away 10% of your income will lead to success and happiness. Sounds like the start of a scam, doesn’t it?
For centuries, Christians have committed to the counter-cultural practice of tithing (giving 10% of your money to the church, charity or missions). Although the secular world thought it crazy, Christians understood the true blessings that come from financial obedience to God.
In an unexpected turn of events, recent scientific studies have proven these blessings, showing empirically that tithing is linked to happiness and success.
Mid-October was plenty early enough to put together a holiday charity drive for a local homeless shelter … right? My co-workers and I thought so. We had dozens of willing hands and a substantial amount of money collected to buy food, gifts, and personal necessities for shelter residents.
In those discussions we concluded that one of our goals would be to always give to something locally or at least within our region. These donations would help keep us in touch with the needs of our community. They would most likely be to smaller organizations who could definitely use our support.
The reign of Claudius Caesar, the fifth Emperor of Rome, was marked by 
Popup thunderstorms dot the landscape of summertime. You know the kind that develop as the afternoon heat and humidity build. Atmospheric conditions can change quickly producing dark clouds and high winds. The next thing you know, a torrential downpour is watering your garden or causing gridlock on the roadways as you drive home from work.
Ever let someone else take the first bite off a piece of your pie?
Feeling a little charity-minded? Here are some tips that may help you come tax time.
Jesus was calling out some pretty crusty characters in the Bible verses I quoted above. The “hypocrites” he mentioned were actually the religious teachers of the time known as the Pharisees. Even though they were the church leaders, they were actually very poor spiritual role models. On this occasion, Jesus was blasting them for their practice of giving to charity openly for all to see.