{"id":6251,"date":"2022-07-28T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/?p=6251"},"modified":"2022-06-21T13:24:11","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T18:24:11","slug":"firstfruits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2022\/07\/28\/firstfruits\/","title":{"rendered":"FIRSTFRUITS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2 minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Firstfruits-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6252\" width=\"331\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Firstfruits-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Firstfruits-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Firstfruits-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Firstfruits-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Firstfruits-180x180.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Firstfruits.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 331px) 100vw, 331px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Daily Reading: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=2+Chronicles+21%3A1-23%3A21+&amp;version=ESV\">2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21 ESV<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Romans+11%3A13-36+&amp;version=ESV\">Romans 11:13-36 ESV<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Psalm+22%3A1-18+&amp;version=ESV\">Psalm 22:1-18 ESV<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Proverbs+20%3A7&amp;version=ESV\">Proverbs 20:7 ESV<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Daily Verse: <\/strong>\u201cIf the dough offered as <em>firstfruit<\/em>s is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Romans+11%3A16&amp;version=ESV\">Romans 11:16 ESV<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>APARCHE (536): <\/strong>\u201cDenotes, primarily, \u201can offering of firstfruits.\u201d Though the English word is plural in each of its occurrences save Rom. 11:16, the Greek word is always singular.\u201d<a id=\"_ednref1\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Firstfruits offering.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One thing the Bible makes clear, we give our best to God.&nbsp; Taking the first of our crop and offering it to the Creator makes Him top priority in our lives.&nbsp; Tithing means giving God the first 10% of your income.&nbsp; We can also give God the firstfruits of our day by devoting time to Him in the morning before we do anything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">God knows our hearts.&nbsp; When we offer Jesus our firstfruits, God blesses the rest.&nbsp; Living off 90% of your income with God\u2019s blessing makes it far more valuable than 100%.&nbsp; Everything belongs to God; you can\u2019t outgive Him.&nbsp; Giving your offerings to God returns what He already owns and shows the Creator the condition of your heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Heart challenge.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his letter to the Romans, Paul talks about firstfruits concerning faith.&nbsp; If someone gives faithfully, they have their hearts set on Jesus.&nbsp; But for those who don\u2019t, their branches get trimmed, not connected to the Father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Engaging our hearts by offering our best to God draws us closer to the Creator.&nbsp; The action shows where we look for hope and provision.&nbsp; Instead of turning to the world, we connect with the Big Guy in the Sky.&nbsp; By doing so, we keep our eyes on Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Challenge your heart today, and give God the firstfruits of your crop.&nbsp; Watch how God does more with 90% than you can with 100%.&nbsp; And as for the age-old question, do you tithe on net or gross income?&nbsp; The answer lies in another question, do you want God to bless on net or gross?&nbsp; You choose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everything we have comes from above.&nbsp; Without God, we don\u2019t have life.&nbsp;&nbsp; In all you do, put God first.&nbsp; Giving God His due defeats idols in your life and keeps your heart pure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a id=\"_edn1\" href=\"#_ednref1\">[i]<\/a> Strong, J., &amp; Strong, J. (2010). <em>The New Strong&#8217;s expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible<\/em>. <em>Greek Dictionary of the New Testament<\/em> (p. 32) Thomas Nelson<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/bookcover.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4819\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/bookcover.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/bookcover-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/bookcover-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Three-Word-Prayers-Everyday-Living-ebook\/dp\/B09JT3B6CW\/ref=sr_1_2?crid=18UKNZFIIDIEA&amp;dchild=1&amp;keywords=three+word+prayers&amp;qid=1635775169&amp;sprefix=three+word+prayers%2Caps%2C69&amp;sr=8-2\">Check out my new release on Amazon<\/a>. Learn how I used prayer to control my emotions and develop healthier relationships in my life. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2 minute read. Daily Reading: 2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21 ESV, Romans 11:13-36 ESV, Psalm 22:1-18 ESV, Proverbs 20:7 ESV Daily Verse: \u201cIf the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.\u201d (Romans 11:16 ESV) APARCHE (536): \u201cDenotes, primarily, \u201can offering of firstfruits.\u201d Though&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2022\/07\/28\/firstfruits\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">FIRSTFRUITS<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6251"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6261,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6251\/revisions\/6261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}