True Joy - Tithing Time In God's Word

One of the miracles of my life occurred in August, 2002, when the Spirit of the Lord came and claimed my wife and I to be His.  That was purely an act of grace for a pair of badly backslid Christians.  The change in our life was immediate and permanent.  One of the great joys subsequently given by the Lord has been the "tithing" of time in studying His word.

I am not a legalist, but I believe in the Scriptural concept of tithing as a guideline of what we gratefully give back to God of what He has blessed us with.  Jacob set the standard, saying to God, "Of all that You give me, I will surely give a tenth to You." (Gen 28:22)  What more valuable gift does He give us than time?  Tithing time was not an original idea or intent of mine.  As an early riser, I have always cherished quiet, productive morning time, before anyone else stirs or arises.  It was MY time until August, 2002, when the Lord showed me it was HIS.  Just naturally, time spent in reading and studying the word was at least three hours per morning on days off, and sixty to ninety minutes on workdays.  (I had never even opened the Bible for some years before.)  And it turned out that the average amount of time spent per day was about two and a half hours - a tenth of our 24-hour day.

Starting with just reading the Bible from cover to cover, next I read it again and felt led to write a paraphrased version.  After two years and four months of this commitment, the Lord gave me specific directions: "Study My words," and showed me a method of cross-referencing the red-letter words of the Gospels with the Old Testament.  I am still doing that, and the joy of discovery awaits me literally every morning.  Real joy!  In fact, I go to bed each night now eagerly looking forward to my early morning time the next day.  And the sense of the favor of the Lord for such a commitment is part of that joy.  It's Biblical:  Ps 37:4-5  "Delight yourself in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass."  (One does not even know what the desires of one's heart can be until one truly delights in, and commits to, the Lord.);  Ps 111:2  "The works of the LORD are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them."  (Yes!!).  There are many other such references:  for example, Proverbs 3:5-6; Isaiah 26:3-4; Habakkuk 2:1-4, and, in the New Testament, John 1:14; Acts 17:10-12 and 2 Timothy 2:15.  Please read them and see.  (Those who know me know that I am still a very flawed human being, but praise God, we are saved by the love, grace and Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ through God the Father!  That fact is all over in the Book!)

So I urge my fellow believers, who haven't tried it, to make a similar time commitment in the word.  I hear so many people say, "I don't have time."  Time is a gift only the Lord can give us; we must give some back.  Get to know your Lord; He has given us a beautiful "manual" for that purpose.