Tithing is a love thing, done in response to us knowing God's heart and recognising that there are needs all around us. From some, God will ask for only 10%. From others, 30%. Sometimes, he may ask for 100%. The important thing is to get close enough to him to hear what he wants of us. When we make any excuse about tithing, it's really more about what's important to us rather than what God wants.

This is God's heart for tithing: that we hold onto the stuff we accumulate lightly and share it at a moment's notice where there's a need. If we lived in a church community where each of us did that whole Acts 2:45 CEV thing - 'They would...give the money to whoever was in need.' - everyone would be covered. The man without a home would become our brother, and we'd help him not go hungry or cold. The single mum struggling to pay the bills would become our sister, and that church community would see that she can pay to keep the lights on, so she can read bedtime stories to her kids.

God will help us to use wisely what he's given us. Even starting whispers of a community like the early Christians developed in Acts could change this world completely.

So what now? Look at what you have differently. Knowing it's all God's anyway is freeing. Ask him to show you how to best use it, for his best outcomes.

We've learned that Abraham and Jacob gave because they met with God. Some time after this, God gave the law to Moses, which is where we'd expect to find actual rules on tithing. In Leviticus 27, there's a detailed list of the tithes God expected from his people at that time. But, the list is not a straight 10% of their income. From reading Leviticus 27, it's more likely that at least 20% of the Hebrew people's property and food-produce was given away in a tithe. This changed from year to year, as different laws cycled in and out over different periods. The one thing that stands out, though, is this: it wasn't about percentages; tithing was about making sure everyone was looked after. Tithes went to widows, priests and travellers - to help them survive.

Actually, there really isn't that much difference between those old-time tithes and what's expected of us now. It's still not about percentages. Check out Acts 2:45 CEV: '[The Christians] would sell their property and possessions and give the money to whoever was in need.' God's tithing model is to use what we have to look out for those with need. This kind of tithing throws the whole 'formula' thing out the window.

So what now? Instead of only thinking about 10%, ask God what he wants of you. Ask him to point you to an act of practical giving today, regardless of whether it was what you expected to give or not.

Another Bible passage that mentions tithing is Genesis 28. Jacob was a lying, cheating-his-own-brother-out-of-an-inheritance rogue. But then he met God, and he walked (well, limped) away a different man. After that happened he said to God, 'Of all that you give to me I will give you a tenth' (Genesis 28:22 NIV). Jacob met with God, was changed, and so he promised to give him a tithe. Again, just like with Abraham, this was before the Levitical laws were a thing, so Jacob wasn't under any obligation. It was the fact that he'd experienced the loving presence of God firsthand that led him to tithe.

This is the second thing to learn about tithing: it's inspired by love. Loving and giving are completely tied together. The Bible says so. John 3:16 NKJV says (we can probably recite it from memory): 'For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life'. We've all heard it, probably many times, but have we ever noticed: 'God so loved... that he gave.' He loved us first, then gave everything of himself to us.

Loving someone or something creates openness and sometimes even a longing to help. And that's when we get inspired to give.

So what now? Which person, situation or place gets your compassion going? Use this as motivation to give, in whatever way you can. Do something generous that will really make a difference. Start with love and move into action.

Tithing. We're going to spend the next four days really getting to grips with what tithing means, and what God's heart for it is. There may be a few surprises along the way - it's not quite as straightforward as popping 10% of our wallet's contents in a little wooden dish.

The first mention of tithing in Scripture is when Abraham meets Melchizedek, a man whose name means king of righteousness. Abraham had just been to battle, and he promised God he wouldn't keep any of the spoils (Genesis 14:14-24). When he meets Melchizedek, he recognises something so godly about the guy, so he gives him a 'tithe' of the spoils. Now, this happened before Moses was around, so it was a point in time before God had passed his laws to his people. Abraham was under no obligation to give 10% away like that. The thing is, though, he'd already dedicated the whole 100% to God when he promised not to keep any of the spoils. He didn't consider a single bit of plunder to be his and he gave the other 90% away after meeting Melchizedek anyway. In Abraham's eyes, everything he'd received was God's already.

The first tithing-lesson we reckon we should learn... Count it all as God's. He gives us a portion of this world and its resources to steward. But it's not ours to jealousy guard; it's his, given to us to use for him.

So what now? Know someone who God shines through? Share something God's given you with them today.

Proverbs 17:17 GWT says, 'A friend always loves, and a brother is born to share trouble.' And Job 2:11 NKJV reads: 'When Job's three friends heard about all the terrible things that had happened to him, each of them came from his home.' The particular Hebrew word that's used for 'friend' in Proverbs 17:17 is the same as in Job 2:11. The meaning is 'friendship, real, brotherly love'.

Job was hurting. Everything was falling apart around him. He was also covered in sores, so his buddies would have known that he was 'unclean' under Jewish law. In short, Job was a complete mess. But, despite all of that, those friends travelled cross country just to get alongside him. They sat with him for a week, in silence, to show they were there for him. We reckon that covers both the loving-at-all-times and 'adversity' bases of today's Proverb.

So the question is, how can we do the same? How can we be that sort of friend, and where can we find friends like that for ourselves? Well, love comes from God, right? So he's probably a good place to start. If we want to strengthen our friendships, the best plan is to fill them full of God, knowing that he'll equip everyone who's his to be a rock to those around them in hard times.

So what now? Arrange for a worship-and-Bible session with some friends. Start by asking what each person needs support for and pray about those things. Be a friend to a 'brother' or 'sister' in their time of trouble.

Naaman was an army commander; a capable and composed man. But then he got sick, and didn't feel either of those (read 2 Kings 5). And he was told that the way he'd get healed was by jumping in a muddy river! This made him very angry. No matter how desperate he was for healing, Naaman was too proud to do something he felt was beneath him. He could see the easy way (having someone lay their hands on him and pray), and couldn't accept that his healing was through a mucky, more difficult route.

Sometimes God does what he does, in exactly the way that he does, on purpose. Actually, scratch that. God always does what he does for a reason. Ecclesiastes 3:1, right: 'There is a right time for everything'? God has a solid plan. Even when the plan doesn't look like we expect it to, it's solid. Going back to Naaman: when he got back from his ego trip and did what God instructed, he got to progress to what he'd been promised - he was healed. That's a lesson we can all do with learning.

Do we find ourselves getting annoyed when progress doesn't go the way we planned? Especially if it means we have to make more of an effort? Despite our complaining and indignation, this is the reality: 'Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding' (Proverbs 3:5 GWT).

So what now? Pray: ask God to build trust, grace and obedience in you, even in the muddy times.