Thought for Today - November 26, 2022
First Fruits Of Our Increase
By: Robert A. Searles
“....But seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be
added unto you.” Matthew 6: 33.
“Honor the Lord with thy
substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: so shall
thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out
with new wine.” Proverbs 3: 9, 10.
The first fruits of all our
increase not only includes our money and material possessions, but it
also includes our time, our health, and our youth, and the freshness,
and soundness of our minds.
When God awakens us from sleep each new
day, he has increased our time upon earth. If we truly seek first
the kingdom of God, then we will give to him the first fruits of
this increase. The first moments, or first hours of each new day
ought to be spent in quiet prayer and meditation, and fellowship with
God.
Often we are content to give to God whatever happens to be
left over after we have taken the best of the crop for ourselves.
Then we give to God the gleanings. After we have all the sleep we
want, after we have eaten all the breakfast we want, after we have
done all our work, and taken care of all the necessary things that
have to be done for ourselves, then we will try to find time to
fulfill our obligation to God. If it is an obligation that must
be worked in somewhere in our time schedule, then we ought to forget
it, because God wants our first fruits, brought to him with a
willing heart, with love, and adoration and gratitude.
“My voice shalt thou hear in the
morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee,
and will look up.” Psalm 5: 3.
Morning implies newness, freshness,
first things. Morning is the first fruits of each new day. How can
any machine which depends upon an outside source of power, for its'
energy, be expected to function if it is not first connected to its'
source of power? How can we, as humans who are dependent upon our
creator as our source of power and wisdom, function properly if we
are not connected to our source of life?
Our first act when we awake in
the morning ought to be to call upon the name of the Lord.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If
we want to be safe in the arms of Jesus all day long, then we ought
to call upon him the moment we awake from sleep.
Seeking first the kingdom of God
means that we first want to live in God's presence and kingdom more
than we want anything on earth. We ought to seek the kingdom of God
early in the morning with the freshness of our minds, and our
youth, and our health.
Don't you think that God is well
plerased when his children arise early in the morning and offer to
him, with sincerity, gratitude, and love, the first fruits of the new
day that he has given to them? When we honor God by opening our
eyes in the morning and calling upon the name of the Lord, and say:
Thank you Lord for this new day in my life, I want to walk and talk
with you today, and have the fellowship of the Holy Spirit in all
that I do this day; this is well pleasing to the Lord.
Each new day
the Lord is knocking on the door of our hearts and lives the moment
we awake in the morning.
Jesus said: “Behold I stand at
the door and knock, if any man will hear my voice and open the
door, I will come in and sup with him and he with me.” The door
must be opened the first thing in the morning. If we wait until it
is convenient for us to open the door, it may be that we will forget
to open the door at all and we will have missed a very important
dinner guest.
“As for me, I will come into thy house in the
multitude of thy mercy. And in thy fear will Iworship toward thy
holy temple.” Psalm 5: 7.
“My voice shalt thou hear in the
morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee,and
will look up.” Psalm 5: 3
“Lead me O Lord, in thy
righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before
my face.” Psalm 5:8.
Telehelp Publications Christian Literature Mnistry
Paslm 26: 7
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