First Fruits

Posted in Giving, Victorious Living by PCraig on July 31, 2010

I had someone ask me about the difference between firstfruits offering and the tithe, so I thought others might be interested as well, so I figured I’d write about it. 

Tithing is a biblical practice of giving to God 10% of your total income.  The practice was instituted before the law of Moses (Abraham tithed) and after when Jesus affirms it (Matt. 23:23).  We actually see that people enjoyed giving above the tithe in the book of Acts when they would sell their homes and bring the money to the apostles as an offering. 

Firstfruits is actually a part of the tithe as well.  It means to offer to God the first of all your crops or produce.  By doing this a person is honoring the God who provided the entirity of their harvest.  When a person tithes off the top of their income, they are providing a firstfruits offering to the Lord.  That means, before paying any bills or spending any of their income, you write out or mail out your tithe check to God. 

When you consider that “the earth is the Lords and everything in it”, then bringing our tithe (10%) shows the generosity of God to allow us to spend the other 90% at our discretion.  He says if we will do this that He will open the floodgates and pour out many incredible blessings upon us while also protecting us from the devourer (Malachi 3). 

I personally believe that I can do more with 90% with God’s blessing than I can with 100% without His blessing.  You simply can’t out-give God and He won’t be in debt to anyone.  This is why we often encourage people at church to try the 90 day challenge of tithing.  Give God 90 days of tithing and see if you don’t feel better about yourself, see God’s hand in your life, and experience unexpected blessings during that time.  I’m not saying put money in and you’ll get money out, but I know that my family has been blessed in many, many ways by our faithful tithing over the years. 

God dares us to try it and see if He can’t prove Himself in our lives in various ways.  So, why not give it a try?  You can’t pay what you don’t owe, so you have to “bring” the tithe with you to the storehouse.  Simply take your total income, and when you get paid write the first check to God’s storehouse (your church) and honor Him with those firstfruits of your income and see if you don’t experience more of Him by walking in obedience.

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