Are you under the blessing or the curse? Ever wondered why God's not pouring out His blessings upon your life? Ever felt like God was out to lunch?

We've all been there - done that. There are many reasons why the blessings aren't consistently flowing in our lives, but we will just name a few. We can't give you specific reasons why you're not blessed. We don't have all the answers, but we would like to give some insight in just a few areas today. We pray that God will give you ears to hear and eyes to see by His Spirit.

1. You Must Be Born Again!

If you want to be blessed and not cursed, you must be born again according to John 3:1-5. Jesus says, in verse 5, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." There's a physical birth and a spiritual birth. As a result of the fall of man, man needed a redeemer. Jesus became our redeemer. When we call upon the name of the Lord, we will be saved.

2. Obedience

Jer. 11:1-3 - The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, "Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and say to them, Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt,..."

Blessing follows obedience - the curse follows disobedience.

Jer. 7:23 - "Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you."

God says, if we obey Him, it will be well with us. We will be blessed.

3. Tithing

Malachi 3:8-12 - "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. 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. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," says the Lord of hosts; And all nations will call you blessed...."

According to Scripture, if we are not tithing - we are cursed. When we are not tithing and giving offerings, we are robbing God.

Now, I'm aware that this is a "hot" subject, but it's time we preach the truth so God's people can be set free and walk in blessing. Don't you want to be blessed? I know I do. I want to be obedient to all that God says in His word. He tells us in His word to tithe and give offerings, we must obey Him.

Gen. 28:22 - And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.

I believe the tithe is "one tenth" of what God gives us. I personally tithe "one tenth" of all my income. If I receive $100.00 from someone, I tithe $10.00 of it to the Lord. The reality of it is this, it all belongs to God. He's the one who provides us with everything in the first place. One tenth is nothing compared to what He has given to us.

Leviticus 27:30 - And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's, it is holy to the Lord.

Heb. 7:5 - And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, this is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham....

I must truthfully tell you friend, you cannot out give God. The more I give away, the more I get in return. I don't give to get, I give because I want to give. I want to be obedient to the Lord. In my obedience, I find it a joy to give to Him. The blessing follows my obedience and I receive so much in return.

Scripture says, "God loves a cheerful giver." We must not only give, but give joyfully as unto the Lord, not unto man.

I use to be a miser. I wouldn't hardly give anything away. I couldn't get my bills paid off, I was in debt and struggled to just make ends meet. But, once I learned the principle of giving and tithing, everything changed. Now, I am blessed. God abundantly provides everything I need and I'm able to bless others. I'm blessed and I'm happy about it!!!! He blesses obedience.

I pray that you will be obedient to the Lord in all your ways. If you're not tithing, you're missing a blessing. The Lord said, "Try Me." Try Him. You'll find that you will also be walking in the blessing. It's not a formula. We must not give to get. We give because the Lord has told us to give. Give and it shall be given unto you pressed down, shaken together and running over....right back into your bossom! PTL!

I get excited just talking about it. I've tried Him, and He is faithful. Walk in the blessing of God, friend. He wants to pour it out on you today. Will you be obedient?