“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the LORD of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:10
I see all of the Step Up movies. I love the dancing. How do they do what they do? I can’t do it! I went with my teammates last summer. I said, “We’re going,” and the guys made fun of me. “I cannot believe you watch that!” “The acting is terrible!” And I told them, “Yeah, the acting is terrible. But that’s not why I’m going! Have you seen the creativity of those kids? Have you seen what they do?” I had an epiphany when I got back to my hotel room. Dance is a big deal in Spokane. What if we merged our social justice ministry into the dance scene?
I’ve got a baseball team doing Something to Eat projects, and we lead other citywide efforts. Why not the dance scene? How can we connect to the creativity of dancers and channel it to help people in need? We could host a dance recital and use the event to raise funds for Something to Eat. Or here’s an idea: a lot of the homeless kids out on the street can dance. They’ve got skills and abilities. Why not bring them in? Let them show off what they can do, and maybe teach a few moves to wannabes like me. I’ve got ideas just flowing for when I get home. We have to get into the arts.
Helping someone out is preserving peace. Here is what Jesus is probably saying to you. “Hey, if you see people that don’t have something, don’t say, “Ahhh, you know, come back tomorrow.” Or, “Ahhh, you know what, maybe when I have a little bit more I’ll give.” Don’t say that. Don’t make excuses for not helping people out. Help somebody out! Don’t be afraid that you haven’t got enough to spare. Help somebody out, and see the prosperity that comes from that.
Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. Luke 6:38
God’s not going to give you money, skills, or resources and then make you feel bad about it. He doesn’t give you blessings just to make you feel guilty. That doesn’t make sense. It’s not how He works. The Bible says that with the blessings of the Kingdom of God, there is joy. I truly believe that. But if you become selfish, your life will be miserable. You will not have joy.
Try it. Test Him. See what it says in Malachi. God says, “Test me with your tithes and offerings, and your storehouse will be overflowing in prosperity. Test me in it! You’re robbing me by not giving me this stuff. Test me in it. Give it back and see if I will not overflow you with blessings.”
See you Wednesday.
Jeremy Affeldt 
Jeremy, I’ve admired your understanding of the social gospel for quite some time now, and now with your “Step Up” confession I just plain like you. YES, DO A DANCE MINISTRY. And for dance movie suggestions: “Pina” and “Planet B-Boy”.
As we give with a heart to establish his kingdom on earth, as we seek first his kingdom, God adds to us to bless our families and others. The more we participate in Kingdom business, the more God adds to us. God is a good God, a blessing God and we are his ambassadors to reveal to the people here that there is a God in heaven who loves them. Good post Jeremy!
Hey Jeremy, great post! There is a great dance ministry in Los Angeles called Word in Motion. The ministry’s main focus is to develop a nation of dancers for Christ. My wife is a member and they do a great job teaching dancers how to use their gifts for the Kingdom of God and live an uncompromising lifestyle. Check out their website when you get the chance: http://wordinmotion.com/ Thanks again for the post!
Hi Jeremy,
I appreciate your post. I wish I had a job of my own so I could be more generous or charitable without having to ask my husband for permission to give money. I am a Deacon at my church, so I do help people without using money of my own. Some people have a hard time with giving because they think it will decrease them in some way, in contrast to what the scripture you noted states that we will have more shaken down to us (Luke 6:38). If nothing else, it makes us feel good to give to others. When I was an intern at an elementary school as a school social worker, I actually got in trouble for making a meal for someone who was going through a hard time with addiction. I was told I was being “codependent”. Now, I made the mistake of cooking the meal in the school kitchen, but still to pathologize my desire to feed someone who was too worn out to cook. They (C.P.S.) ended up taking the child of this addict into protective custody, which is good if it forces her into treatment. The parent would have to jump through lots of hoops to get her child back, including clean drug tests. I never found out what happened because I graduated w/ my MSW.
Congratulations on the win today. You did good on the mound… now in the dugout….. not so much… Sorry that you almost got hit by the ball and hurt your hand. At least you weren’t slicing burgers and yourself…. (sorry)
Go Giants!
Victoria