Giving with Joy

Deuteronomy 10-12; Mark 16

“’…To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts,…There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you…And there rejoice before the Lord your God…and you are to rejoice before the Lord your God…’”

Deuteronomy 12:5-7, 12, 18

The call to bring the tithes of the produce and animals from each family to the designated place of worship and sacrifice included the repeated command to rejoice before the Lord. There is joy when we give back to God in worship, tithes, and offerings what he has given us.

Are we experiencing and calling one another to this kind of joy?

When giving our tithes and offerings is just duty, we are missing God’s best for us. This commanded rejoicing and feasting in the presence of the Lord lasted a full week and occurred three times a year. The Lord God is still inviting us to generosity and celebration in his presence even as we experience the fulfillment of these feasts in Christ.

“Lord Jesus, you are the reason we celebrate and give generously with joy, for your glory.”