The firstfruits of your grain and your new wine and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.
Deuteronomy 18:4 (NKJV)
Q: Have you ever wondered what God has planned for your life?
Q: Have you ever wondered what was next after accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?
Q: Do you know what the New Covenant means for your life?
Good questions for sure--questions each of us should know as Christian men and women. Let's take a look at the some of the fundamentals and how we got here first.
God said to Moses, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them; 'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest" (Lev. 23:10).
It was God's will for His children to bring the first portion of what He had given them back to the temple and give it to the priests. God had devised a perfect system to assure the needs of both the priest, and His children would be met. And at the base of this system was the promise of God's provision. It was the perfect cycle.
All man had to do to ensure his own provision was to continue his part of the process - to obey God's laws and to give the Firstfruits of what was given to him. The firstfruits were the first and the best of the crops being harvested. This was the Old Covenant between God and man as written in the Old Testament. There were actually 613 commandments (The Law) given to man to follow and an amazing blessing was promised if they would simply follow the Lord's plan for their lives. History records they could not do this, and as such, much hardship was reaped instead of the harvest of God's blessing.
Truth be told, God knew man could never keep this covenant, and He knew we could not keep the law to earn our salvation. God had made a way for this, and the provision was temporary atonement. This would entail bringing forth the offerings of various animals for a living sacrifice to atone for the sin committed in violating the law. The law was never given to man to show him how to be saved - it was given to show him he needed a savior - someone to pay for the violation of sin.
Now let's flash forward. God is faithful and He brings forth a New Covenant. This new covenant was based on Jesus paying for all sin, once for all so fellowship could be restored between God and man. We see this being spoken of in the book of Hebrews.
Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the peoples, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. Hebrews 7:25-27 (NKJV)
And for those who believe the gospel message contained within His Word (The Bible); for those who accept this offering of Jesus' death - who believe He is the Christ, and who believe He died and was raised on the third day (Rom. 10:9-10) - they are now a part of the Firstfruits of God's bumper crop of created creatures.
Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. James 1:18 (NKJV)
I never really thought of myself as part of the firstfruits of Jesus' work on the Cross, but God says it is so - and this pretty much settles it.
Q: So what does this mean to us as Christians?
Q: What application should this bring to our life?
We will look at these answers in Part 2 of this devotional.
Hey Christian, I want to encourage you today to know something very special. God has chosen you for such a time as this. Of all the generations to be born, He has chosen you for these last days. This is amazing in itself. Think about this - He chose you! This means He has a plan for your life - a perfect plan. No matter what you have been through, or are going through, both good and bad, He will use it for good, and to help others if you will let Him.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
STUDY QUESTION: According to Hebrews 7:25-27, what does Christ do for those who are saved?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: According to James 1:18, we, as Christians, are firstfruits of Gods creations. According to Deuteronomy 18:4, what are we to do with the firstfruits?
APPLICATION: Are you giving/living your life to/for God?
Deuteronomy 18:4 (NKJV)
Q: Have you ever wondered what God has planned for your life?
Q: Have you ever wondered what was next after accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?
Q: Do you know what the New Covenant means for your life?
Good questions for sure--questions each of us should know as Christian men and women. Let's take a look at the some of the fundamentals and how we got here first.
God said to Moses, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them; 'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest" (Lev. 23:10).
It was God's will for His children to bring the first portion of what He had given them back to the temple and give it to the priests. God had devised a perfect system to assure the needs of both the priest, and His children would be met. And at the base of this system was the promise of God's provision. It was the perfect cycle.
- God providing for man
- Man receiving from God
- Man offering the firstfruits of God's provision back to God
- God receiving man's offering
All man had to do to ensure his own provision was to continue his part of the process - to obey God's laws and to give the Firstfruits of what was given to him. The firstfruits were the first and the best of the crops being harvested. This was the Old Covenant between God and man as written in the Old Testament. There were actually 613 commandments (The Law) given to man to follow and an amazing blessing was promised if they would simply follow the Lord's plan for their lives. History records they could not do this, and as such, much hardship was reaped instead of the harvest of God's blessing.
Truth be told, God knew man could never keep this covenant, and He knew we could not keep the law to earn our salvation. God had made a way for this, and the provision was temporary atonement. This would entail bringing forth the offerings of various animals for a living sacrifice to atone for the sin committed in violating the law. The law was never given to man to show him how to be saved - it was given to show him he needed a savior - someone to pay for the violation of sin.
Now let's flash forward. God is faithful and He brings forth a New Covenant. This new covenant was based on Jesus paying for all sin, once for all so fellowship could be restored between God and man. We see this being spoken of in the book of Hebrews.
Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the peoples, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. Hebrews 7:25-27 (NKJV)
And for those who believe the gospel message contained within His Word (The Bible); for those who accept this offering of Jesus' death - who believe He is the Christ, and who believe He died and was raised on the third day (Rom. 10:9-10) - they are now a part of the Firstfruits of God's bumper crop of created creatures.
Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. James 1:18 (NKJV)
I never really thought of myself as part of the firstfruits of Jesus' work on the Cross, but God says it is so - and this pretty much settles it.
Q: So what does this mean to us as Christians?
Q: What application should this bring to our life?
We will look at these answers in Part 2 of this devotional.
Hey Christian, I want to encourage you today to know something very special. God has chosen you for such a time as this. Of all the generations to be born, He has chosen you for these last days. This is amazing in itself. Think about this - He chose you! This means He has a plan for your life - a perfect plan. No matter what you have been through, or are going through, both good and bad, He will use it for good, and to help others if you will let Him.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
STUDY QUESTION: According to Hebrews 7:25-27, what does Christ do for those who are saved?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: According to James 1:18, we, as Christians, are firstfruits of Gods creations. According to Deuteronomy 18:4, what are we to do with the firstfruits?
APPLICATION: Are you giving/living your life to/for God?
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