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| Rev. Phyllis Bowers Executive Director UMSF |
What a wonderful Thanksgiving invitation! We praise him with our holiest joy and love. Join me in praying that we are shown how to please him with this “thanks giving” through our words and deeds.
We were blessed to recently have Dr. Mark Vincent lead one of our webinars. In it he reminded us of the difference of offering God our “first fruits” with the idea that there is more to come versus offering a tithe to be done with our “obligation.” One is worship and the other is transactional. He also gave us the comparison of two barns in the Bible. Jesus’ parable showed us a man who tore down his old barns and built larger new ones to store up wealth for himself. The other story in 2 Chronicles showed us Hezekiah ordering storehouses be made to distribute the people’s offerings more efficiently.
Isn’t there something wondrous and holy in thanks giving? We share in the fruit of the spirit which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Romans 8 tells us we have the “firstfruits of the spirit” (plural!) and we have more blessings to come. Yet, it’s even more beautiful that we have more to come to give to glorify the Lord and exalt his name. From the firstfruits of the spirit only can we truly “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but rather value others above ourselves, not looking to our own interests but each of us to the interests of others.”
We will fill our plates with many things in the days to come during our holy days and seasons. It may be with more busyness or more service, more gathering or more producing, more anxiety or more peace, more holding or more letting go. Look at what’s on your plate and what you’re doing with your firstfruits. Pass the plate in celebration living for there’s more to come.
“Glorify the Lord with me, let us exalt his name together.”
The United Methodist Stewardship Foundation
3901 Hartzdale Dr. Suite 110,
Camp Hill, PA 17011
Phone 717-766-7343 Toll Free 800-272-0113
sfcpa@umstewardship.org
