Does your action match your confession, or are you just saying words.
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Malachi 3:10 - Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord 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.
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How often have you been in a church service, or viewing a minister on television, when the minister called everyone hearing to a point of confession? I’m not talking about confession of sins, but of the confession of the Word of God as a release of faith. I’ve been there often, and as an active member of the five-fold ministry, have often called for a confession of faith. It can be a real encouragement to those present, especially to those who take the words of their mouth seriously.
Following such a confession there is a wonderful opportunity to do more than merely speak your faith, but to put it to action, thus giving evidence of a living faith. Now allow me to be clear; as we deal with the human element we must realize that all of us have times of falling short, or missing the mark. Now I’m not talking about deliberate sin, such as choosing to go out and steal or commit adultery. What I am addressing at this point is our human failures to carry out our commitments. Among many other issues, it speaks to promising to tithe faithfully, but in difficult times withholding the tithe for personal reasons, while not knowing how to deal with this issue Biblically.
So there; I’ve said it. I know so many good people who love God and set out on a good intended course to tithe faithfully. But the loss of a job, or a larger-than-can-be-handled financial emergency, and one finds himself/herself facing the dilemma to tithe or not to tithe. Sadly, I have found that most people when confronting such issues don’t know what the Scriptures have to say about how to handle such a situation. Yet the Scriptures are plain about it. If you withhold any part of the tithe for a legitimate reason, it is called redeeming the tithe. In the end, the redeemed portion should be paid to the Lord with a one-time payment of 20% interest. To withhold and forget is robbery. Always tithe accurately. That means keeping records; knowing the condition of your flock (knowing your financial condition). It is called diligence and integrity. And God will honor such a person by lifting them above the challenge to victory.
Manna for Today - Deuteronomy 26:1-6; Genesis 14:18-20; Luke 11:42; Hebrews 7:1-9; Matthew 23:23; James 2:20-26; Hebrews 11:6; Hebrews 10:23; Leviticus 27:30-34
About Author
My name is Beechard Moorefield and was born in 1949. I am descended from English, German, and Cherokee ancestry, and I serve as senior pastor to New Life International Pentecostal Fellowship in Winston-Salem, NC. I enjoy hunting, fishing, music, and martial arts, currently holding a second degree Black Belt in Kempo, a second degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, and a purple belt in Combat Hapkido, with many years of training in Hwarangdo, Aikido, Judo, Yawara, and Kali Salat.
I have run the gambit of work in my life; working in the tobacco fields of rural North Carolina, in factories in Winston-Salem, and in my own business for some years. I was married (my wife’s name is Sharon and she’s an awesome lady) in 1971, and soon thereafter began pursuing ministry as a call on my life. I have two sons, Alex (1974) and Jason (1977).
I have pursued ministry since 1971, with 15 of those years spent traveling over the southeastern United States and some international ministry. I have now been pastoring 1986 in the same church. During my pastoral years I have diligently pursued the study of leadership. Through my study and application of what I have learned, I have been selected to serve an 11 county area in the leadership role of presbyter, giving direct leadership to 21 churches and 50 ministers, and serving on the state board of directors for that fellowship. I am also involved in teaching leadership and leading in seminars for many churches, nationally and internationally, and currently own and operate a leadership development and personal coaching organization called Eagle’s Nest Forum. (www.newlifews.com) I stepped down from the position of presbyter in 2003 in order to more fully invest my energies in my pastoral role and the pursuit of Eagle’s Nest Forum.
My ministry is presently quite wide spread. Aside from my role as pastor, I also serve on the boards of six other ministries, and do quite a bit of speaking in our community at various levels. In 1999, I began leading a group of ministers into a program that is ongoing in Peru. We developed a school of practical ministry for active ministers in Peru in order to take them beyond typical seminary training. We have discovered that in Peru, just like the United States, young men and women who graduate from seminary may know much of the Bible, but most of them don’t have clue about leadership, management, vision and vision casting, and so many of the necessary people skills needful to cause a ministry to be successful.
I currently work with ministries in Mexico and Pakistan. In Mexico, I work with Pastor Randy Garvey of El Rio in Tlaxcala, and have been doing so since 2004. I also serve and train Pastor Naeem Sadiq of New Life International Pentecostal Fellowship in Pakistan through an on-line process that has continued since 2005, with the ministry there growing from 500 people touched daily to now tens of thousands. I also publish a daily Christian devotional called the Second Miler, which is presently sent to more than 140,000 recipients across the globe daily. The devotion, along with the audio podcast of our church ministry, can be accessed on our Web site at www.newlifews.com. In addition, my work through Eagle's Nest Forum allows me to work with people who are entrepreneurs, business owners and leaders, professionals in education, law enforcement, fire fighting, and medicine, government leaders, ministry leaders, and even banking and investment specialists.
I received my Associates Degree in Police Science from Davidson County Community College, and my Bachelor of Science in Commercial Music from Winston-Salem State University, a part of the University of North Carolina system. I have also pursued and earned my MBA (Masters Degree in Business Administration) from Almeda University, and my MAOM (Master of Arts in Organizational Management) from the University of Phoenix. My view of life is, “LIFE IS A BLAST!” If I can achieve my autobiographical epitaph, I will consider myself a true success. It reads: “God gave him shoulders strong and broad enough that those who followed him could stand on them ,seeing and moving far beyond all he saw.”
