Give your very best

God gave the prophet Ezekiel a picture of what it will look like when God's relationship with his people is restored: he'll call them to his holy mountain, gather his people to him - and they will offer him the best of what they have ('first fruits' of the harvest). At that time in Bible history, God's people were the Jewish people. They took this picture to heart - their law required that they offer the first fruits of harvest to God, to worship him and remind themselves that everything came from him.

As it turned out, they weren't always great at putting him first. All they needed to do was make him their priority (not their own selfish ambitions) and they could be close to him, but instead they cut corners left, right and centre. Most of us can think of situations where we've done the same, forgetting that 'my gifts are not my gifts, they belong to God.'

God's love doesn't depend on how well we live our lives. But, because his love is so freely given, let's try to do life well. A good way to start is by dedicating our very best (our 'first fruits') to him each day.



So what now? Set your alarm 10 minutes earlier to start tomorrow with a prayer of commitment. (Hate mornings? Do it anyway!) Starting your day with words like the psalmist - 'You are my God. My times are in your hands' (Psalm 31:14-15 NIV) - is a wonderful way to focus the rest of your day on him.





— SCRIPTURE —

'I will require...the first fruits of your sacrifices.' Ezekiel 20:40 NKJV
— SOULFOOD —

Judg 7:1-9:33, Matt 16:13-28, Ps 119:65-72 , Pro 17:23-26