October 1, 2026
A preacher entered a newspaper editor’s office in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and said, “Mr. Editor, there are forty-seven in my church who subscribe to your paper. May we have a notice in Sunday’s issue? Once the editor gave permission, the minister wrote the following: “Mount Moriah Baptist Church, the Reverend John Obadiah, Pastor, preaching morning and evening; in the promulgation of the gospel, three books necessary, the holy book, the hymn book, and the pocketbook. Come tomorrow and bring all three.” That said, as you consider your relationship with Christ and His church, focus on the following:
Your pocketbook- God loves cheerful givers. Unfortunately, parting with money for charitable purposes puts some people in a bad frame of mind.
Take the lady who once grumbled to a friend, “Our church costs too much, they are always asking for money.” To which the lady replied, “Sometime ago, a little boy was born in our home. He cost me a lot of money from the very beginning; he had a big appetite, he needed clothes, medicine, toys, and even a puppy. Then he went to school, and that cost a lot more; later, he went away to college; then he began dating, and that cost a small fortune! But in his senior year at college, he died, and since his funeral, he has not cost me a penny. Now, what situation do you think I would rather have?”
She paused for a few minutes and continued, “As long as this church lives, it will cost. When it dies for want of support, it will not cost us anything. A living church has the most vital message for the world today, therefore I am going to give and pray with everything I have to keep our church alive.”
Shift your mindset from getting to giving. You can’t outgive God. Pay Him first. When people say they can’t afford to tithe, I say, you can’t afford not to.
The Hymn Book- I know. Most of us get words to songs from a screen these days. You get the picture. I don’t sing well and can’t read music. Yet, I totally embrace the importance of sacred song.
As Scripture reads, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).
Martin Luther said, “The devil takes flight at the sound of music, just as he does at the words of theology, and for this reason the prophets always combined theology and music, the teaching of truth, and the chanting of Psalms and hymns. After theology, I give the highest place and greatest honor to music.”
These words ring just as true now as they did when Luther wrote them 500 years ago. And just think how much great music has come along since then. “O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation” (Psalm 95:1 NASB).
The Holy Book: I read recently where someone said, “Life doesn’t come with an instruction manual. There is no ‘right’ way to live your life.” I beg to differ. Life does come with an instruction manual, and it’s called the Bible. Concerning the Word, the apostle Paul writes, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16 NASB).
Mahatma Ghandi, a Hindu, and key leader in India’s independence, blatantly proclaimed, "You Christians have in your keeping a document with enough dynamite in it to blow the whole of civilization to bits; to turn society upside down; to bring peace to this war-torn world. But you read it as if it were just good literature, and nothing else.” Scripture is certainly good literature. And yet, there’s so much more there.
If you haven’t already, make the Bible a consistent part of your life. We have so many options available to us. Read it while sitting. Listen while walking. Study it, memorize it, pray it, and best of all, live it.
With pocketbook, hymn book and holy book in hand, come before the Lord with gratitude, praise, and anticipation. He’ll magnify what you bring, returning multiplied blessings to you, as well as others.
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Todd Gaddis is a semi-retired minister living in Athens. He continues to serve as an interim pastor and can be reached at jtoddgaddis@gmail.com.
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