A Revival Offering
Nehemiah 10:35-37 NASB
And in order that they might bring the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all the fruit of every tree to the house of the Lord annually, and bring to the house of our God the first-born of our sons and of our cattle, and the first-born of our herds and our flocks as it is written in the law, for the priests who are ministering in the house of our God. We will also bring the first of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the new wine and the oil to the priests at the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithe of our ground to the Levites, for the Levites are they who receive the tithes in all the rural towns.

The men, women and children of Skyway Church practice the biblical offering of First Fruits every year. We are receiving each person’s offering from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. I am writing to you each week to help develop your biblical understanding of this offering so you can join your faith with your offering as you bring it before the Lord. Today I am sharing this passage from Nehemiah with you. The book of Nehemiah is a “revival book.” By this I mean that the nation of Israel had fallen away from worshipping God and they were ignorant of the principles of his word. When the Temple was restored and Ezra read the word of God to all the people they began to weep because many of them had lived their entire lives without anyone teaching them the holy principles of life. When we are unaware or grow cold and indifferent to the holy principles of faith we slowly but surely will drift away from God. When the Spirit touches our hearts to obey God’s word we are in a season of revival. When everyone heard that it was God’s will for them to bring the first portion of everything to the Lord they joyfully responded in faith. I remember that this is how the Spirit of God touched me. The first time I learned that there were things in the Bible that I was not obeying, I was grieved at my ignorance and immediately I was happy to respond in faith. I am still learning more about what God wants me to do every day. When I see opportunities for obedience I want to quickly respond with actions of faith. This helps keep me personally in a place of revival. Where are you today? How easy is it for the Holy Spirit to reveal new avenues of obedience to you? First Fruits is a revival offering and I encourage you to ask God in prayer how much you should offer this season.