Prepare your First Fruits!!!
Giving our firstfruits means giving our best to God. It means sacrificing something that costs us a little. It means putting God first, even before ourselves, or our family. Making a first fruit offering opens us up to allow God to work in our life.
James 1:16-18 NIV
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
• to offer firstlings or firstfruits
• to take away the firstfruits of the productions of the earth which was offered to God. The first portion of the dough, from which sacred loaves were to be prepared. Hence term used of persons consecrated to God for all time.
• persons superior in excellence to others of the same class
a beginning of sacrifice, that is, the (Jewish) first fruit (figuratively): - first-fruits.
“When you come into the land which I give you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.” —Leviticus 23:10
By: Jesse Wisnewski
True Life Church
The Hebrew word for first fruit is bikkurim—literally translated to “promise to come.” The Israelites saw these first fruits as an investment into their future. God told them that if they brought their first fruits to him, he would bless all that came afterward.
“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.” —Proverbs 3:9
In the New Testament, the term first fruits takes on a symbolic meaning. In 1 Corinthians 15:20, Paul mentions Christ as the “first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Jesus was God’s first fruits—his one and only son, and the best that humanity had to offer. God gave Jesus, who was raised from the dead, up for us, in the same way that we sacrifice the best we have for him.
What started as a specific instruction for bringing crops to the temple priest was expanded on later in Scripture. It no longer refers to literal fruit—firstfruits means any income, wealth, or blessings that a Christian has received over the course of the year.
These are all harvest time moments when your hard work paid off. These are also great opportunities to turn back to God in gratitude for the blessings.
By: Jesse Wisnewski
True Life Church
Prepare your First Fruits should be done in love and adoration unto God. We really shouldn't be thinking about how hard it will be because God already knows what you have anyway he knows what will be a sacrifice but it is indeed a celebration for all God has done. It's been said many times over we cant ever truly repay God for all he has done so at the least, we can give of ourselves in all areas of our life. This is true worship!!! Especially us laying down ourselves and what we have to God because Jesus did it for us!!
Preparing our first fruits to God is walking in true gratitude and or gratefulness to whom God is and what he has done for us. It comes with scarface and to someone it might seem scary but this is where our faith is being made new as it allows us to truly show if we trust God or not because our faith is being stretched in this way. Are we just having lip services and hearing God's word but not being doers of his word lacking action behind what we say or try to portray.. But note as it says in Malachi 3:8 that if we bring all your tithes and offering into God's store house that there would be meat(provisions) in his house that we could test him on it he would prove to us that he would open up the windows of heaven (our blessings would be so big) that we wouldn't have room enough to receive them (he would have to create room for us to receive our blessings) that means more opportunities to receive would come to those that give the 10th of all their increase and offering that you prayed and asked what to give. (Full read on WordPress
