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TITHING AND DIVINE INTERVENTION
A Testimony
We are calling this time of New Covenant history our "miracle phase" and without exaggeration. I would like to share just a couple of recent miracles with you.
Paying tithing can really put a man or woman to the test because money is, in a way, life. Without it there is no home, food, or warmth.
Every six months my family has to pay two very large bank loans on our house. Usually we only just manage to pay them. At the beginning of October my salary went down and I wondered how the family would manage. Then several other unexpected expenses came along.
A Double Car Accident
A week ago I broke the Sabbath and paid dearly for it. The battery in one of my cars went flat on the Saturday and as a car is absolutely necessary for me to get to work in, I had to get a new battery before the Monday. With the arrival of snow and ice I also needed winter tyres, my old set being too old for use.
Only one garage could help with the battery and tyres at such short notice, but only on Sunday. Putting my work before the Lord, my family and I set out in both cars on a very bright and sunny but cold day. Blinded by the sun, I crashed into the second family car. Both were completely wrecked. No-one was seriously injured -- my son suffered a little whiplash which, praise God, disappeared after four days. I crushed my ribs somewhat in the shock but nothing was broken. I am still suffering pains but am managing.
I was deeply repentant after that and thankful my family was uninjured. But now the family had lost both cars. I bought a new (second-hand) car the next day, taking a day off work to do so and get over the shock. It was as though the Lord had provided it for me -- the same make and nearly the same model as the one I had lost.
Now the economy was bad. Because of bad planning I had not paid my tithe on time and decided that I would now do that so as to be obedient to the commandments. The tithing and the cost of the new car and registration left the bank account deeply in the red.
I drove to work the next day deeply depressed. The "new" car was not as powerful as the old one and it took far longer to get to work than usual -- twice as long. And the roads were covered in treacherous black ice. A year ago I might have risked driving fast but now I had been shocked into being more cautious. I knew I would miss the train.
The Lord Stops a Train
Sure enough, about half a kilometer from the station, I saw the train from Oslo approaching the station, and my train waiting for it to arrive as it was a single track line. It would be there in about 30 seconds and I would need at least three more minutes to get there and a minute to park. I resigned myself to missing it. Quietly I asked the Lord to let me know what my position with Him was, whether He was still displeased with me, whether He had forgiven me for not honouring the Sabbath. I asked Him to show me a miracle, as a sign that I was forgiven. "Please stop the train exactly where it is so that I have time to get to my own train," I asked Him.
Instantly, the incoming train stopped dead in its tracks, and for no apparent reason. I slowly cruised into the station, parked, and boarded my train. No sooner had I got on board than the incoming train started again. I praised the Lord!
Today the dreaded bills for the bank loans came in -- to our amazement, they were Kr.6,000 less than usual, because of an unexpected fall in interest rates. The car had cost me Kr.8,000 and the evening before my mother had offered Kr.2,000 to help defray the costs of the car. I had just enough money!
The Lord had answered our prayers. May His Name be praised!
This page was created on 16 April 1998
Last updated on 16 April 1998
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