Tiny Devotional for Wednesday, 11-03-2021

A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, put mustard on the biscuit.

Honor the Lord from your wealth,
And from the first of all your produce;
Proverbs 3:9, NASB


This verse provides the counsel; tune in next month to discover the accompanying promise. 
(Or, look it up.)

A farmer’s daughter taught me about first fruits. You’ve been living on home-canned food for months. Toward the end, the best choices are long gone, and it’s nothing but pickled cabbage and cauliflower.
Then: the peas come in! That first meal is a JOYOUS time! Each person gets one small spoonful of peas, to be slowly consumed, in reverence for God’s provision through the garden.

Giving the first of the produce is mentioned at least 30 times in the Bible, because it’s a significant sacrifice. It means at least one more meal of pickled cabbage, without any fresh peas.  It says “This is the best I have, Lord: it’s Yours!”

How can we translate that sacrificial act into 2021, when less than 1% of the US population is working on a farm?

Here’s my modern method of sacrificing first fruits, arrived at over the past few decades.

  • I HOPE that driving old, paid-for cars, when I could get a loan for something new(er), counts. 
  • I HOPE putting up with an increasingly clunky stove and refrigerator counts. 
  • Same thing for older phones and computers; we don’t get ANY of those first fruits of technology! 
  • Our cars, appliances, and electronic devices are all the equivalent of pickled cabbage.
  • We invest everything saved into people, and agencies that provide direct assistance to them. 

We think it’s working; we listen for His new directions, though.


Peace be on your household.

Comments

  1. Moose45RiderNovember 3, 2021 at 11:42 AM

    Good word.

    ReplyDelete
  2. v, NoNovember 3, 2021 at 4:28 PM

    Godliness with contentment is great gain. I don't know about first fruits, but God should get the best portion of all we have.

    ReplyDelete
  3. On Christ the Solid Rock I StandNovember 5, 2021 at 6:06 AM

    Yes my Brother Pat. Nice idea from God's word. Praise God!

    ReplyDelete

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