Now We Know

by Angelo Head
(USA)

Hey, Hey, Hey Everybody!


Hope you all are doing well. Life's been a mountain that I?ve been learning how and when to climb during these past few months with school, family, and my job all working together as elements of testing. With that said I am brought to what I would like to share with you all for this month.


As a student studying the art of film, I have been soldiering through my first year of production classes this semester. My instructor is far from lax, but she has given a morsel of mercy and a sip of grace every once in awhile. Nonetheless, with slightly over four months of rigorous writing, filming, and editing I had reached the end of the semester and the final hours before my final project was due. Two scripts later, I had created a story about a young girl who gets psychologically abused by her father but one day is befriended by an unknown girl in the neighborhood. After a surprising comment from my instructor and obtaining permission to shoot my project, I gathered what confidence I hadn?t let fall by the way side and began shooting my film.

This would be about the time where things started to get interesting. Every day of production my cast and crew would show up about an hour to two hours after the scheduled time. Without having the proper equipment ready, problems with lighting occurred because our only source of light was the sun, which during the winter doesn't like to stay out very long. Finished with production I went straight to post production and discovered that our equipment didn?t pickup much good sound. Tired, stressed, and slightly discouraged I sat down for a seven hour session of editing at school. Just as I was going to save my work and go home, the system shuts down and I lose all my work.

Sadly to say, the problems I was having with my final project weren't the only things troubling me. At work I had been blamed and temporarily removed from an elite position due to problems that I did not and could not have caused. Other problems such as fines for late equipment or books, or even my relationship with family and friends seemed to add a significant weight to my situation. I was tired. I was scared. I was ready to give up. But then one night just before I laid my head down to sleep I said a prayer. I asked God to have mercy on me, give me strength and wisdom, and show me what to do. The response I received was amazing.

Ever since September of this year, following a healthy purchase of a brand-new laptop to help with school, I had stopped paying my tithes. I did at least keep track of how much was owed. But with student shoots and work, what started off as just a few weeks of missing church turned into months. Additionally, anytime I did pull out tithes from my earnings, something important would come up and the money for tithes would come out. Eventually, I even stopped calculating what my tithes were.

In Malachi 3:8-12 (NIV), God speaks to the children of Jacob about tithes:

"8 Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse?the whole nation of you?because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty."

Just like many of you who are reading this right now, regardless of age, belief, or color you understand how life can become very challenging when ends aren't being met. I have bills. I have school to excel in. But at the same time I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and certainly enough food to survive. However, many of our friends in the world do not come close to my fortunes. Hasn't God provided before this time and now? We have to ask ourselves a question when concerning giving God praises or a tenth of our work. Imagine that you have a child. It has depended on you and been with you for many years. But after all your sacrifices of missing time for yourself and giving your most cherished items to that child, that child doesn?t bother to give thanks or even worse takes all credit for work it has never done. How would that make you feel? Mad? Jealous? Hurt? If any of those three or more apply to you, then you have now been blessed to understand how God feels when we don?t praise him or pay our tithes. He doesn?t ask for much. In America, a tenth of one dollar is $0.10, leaving you with $0.90 to spend or save for yourself. Just imagine what a tenth of $10, $100, or even $1000 is! God wants to make sure that you?re faithful in the small things so that He can continue to bless you with the big.


I'd like to pray with you right now:

God thank you for being such a forgiving, merciful, and supportive father in our lives. Sometimes we forget or neglect you, yet still you never change. We repent and ask your forgiveness for not giving you a tenth of our earnings or praise for what you've done. Thank you for letting us go through hardship so that we may understand how you feel. Please Father, wipe the slate clean of our debts and give us the discipline to pay what is rightfully yours. We love you. We need you. We thank you. In your precious and holy name, Amen.