Sept 16, 2020 … First-fruits Or Left-overs?

Berry Patch Devotions in 2020 - Day 260 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... </b>   Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Jeremy Camp singing … Walk By Faith … powerfully singing of how we all must walk by faith in our lives to glorify The One Who gives us life, giving the first fruits of our time, talents, and treasures for King Jesus. 

First fruit fitness?? 

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Highlight Passage:  2Corinthians 9:7 …  [ESV] ... 

<i>  7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. </i>

…    Paul charges Christians to give cheerfully, … in faith, … not reluctantly because God loves it when we generously give all we can for His glory.   

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Highlight Passage [Context]: …   2Corinthians 9:6-11 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK … 

…  God, thru Paul, exhorts fellow Christians to give what we can - in faith - for God’s kingdom from our time, talents, and treasures. 

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Reference Passage: …  Proverbs 3:9-10 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK …   

… As believers we are to give from the FIRST FRUITS of God’s providence, … not from the left-overs.  

Reference Passage: …  Luke 6:38 [ESV] …   

38 … give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

…  Jesus, … on giving back to God what He has given to us, … knowing we will receive back, in like measure, from His providence.      

Reference Passage: …  Hebrews 11:6 [ESV] …   

46 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.

…  Faith is the key to how we use our time, talents, and treasures for God’s glory.

Reference Passage: …  James 2:14-17 [ESV] …  USE THIS LINK …   

… God, thru James, shows us that our works reveal our true faith.   

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, John Blase, AT THIS LINK  uses a fitness analogy to show us that if all we can give is four push-ups to regain our health [see photo], then we should do all we can to do four pushups.  And then the ODB author compares that to what we can do in faith to give of ourselves for God’s glory. 

Reading and meditating from today’s ODB entry and on the truth of the Scriptures above, I am personally under conviction, knowing that I could do much more with regard to my fitness to honor my Lord.  I’m definitely overweight and really need to do more with my time and the fitness God has blessed me with in order to give back to Him - in faith - as to how I can better use what He has given me for His glory.

So, I will set some written goals TODAY and enlist prayer support from fellow Christians to set me on a course of action to give what I can from the time my Lord gives me to prayerfully and cheerfully do what I can, … using the first-fruits of His grace for His glory.  

What about you all, … my fellow readers?  What can we all be doing more of - or less of - to honor our Lord with our faithful giving back these days from what He has given us?  

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for what You’ve given me … so that I might cheerfully give back to Your kingdom … and for Your glory. 

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to give back to our Lord what we can … for His kingdom and for His glory. 

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC.  If you GO TO THIS LINK the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.