I am about to start medical school and I will not have a job or any earned income for the next four years. I want to give, but I don’t know how much I can give or how much it would be wise for me to give since I will be living off of student loan money. 

Freewill offerings were commonplace in the Old Testament era. The three tithes were never the ceiling of giving, merely the floor. 

To say that churches should receive the firstfruits does NOT mean they should keep them. They should set the example for their people by giving more to missions and the poor than they keep.

The Old Testament uses no single word for universe or cosmos. When Genesis 1:1 speaks of God’s creating “the heavens and the earth,” the words are synonymous with what we mean by universe.

We’ll each part with our money. The only question is when.

10% is not some lofty goal, just a starting place, but starting is important.

First, commit yourself to regular giving to your local church and above and beyond giving to missions and other ministries.

I have encouraged women in this situation to go to their husbands, explain their deep conviction about giving, perhaps share one of the passages about how God blesses givers, and tell him she believes God will provide for their family so that the amount she desires to give won't be noticed by him, even if it is substantial.

To change the direction of our lives we need to prayerfully make wise decisions, and nothing is wiser than giving first to God, cutting back our expenditures wherever we can, and systematically paying off our debts to others,