First

I’ve heard sports fanatics say the guy is second place is the first loser. I do take issue with that in practical terms, as they were almost first. There are lots of other competitors who didn’t even get close to first. There is only one “first”.  There are events in our lives that we remember the “first” time. There are other events that are important, but we can’t remember the “first” time. I can’t remember the first time I ate a meal, but I can remember the last time I sat down to eat a meal just yesterday evening!  There is the first girlfriend, the first date, the first kiss – some of these are not as significant because the first “love” married someone else. As I get older, I am trying harder to remember all the “firsts” in my life. I am blessed with a wonderful wife and beautiful children and grandchildren. I have lots of “firsts” to look forward too. My heart hurts for friends who’ve lost a loved one this year and every holiday or special days without their loved one is a first – a painful first.

The people of Israel have just come through the experience of being freaked out by 8 of the 10 spies that were sent into the new land to scout it out. They looked at themselves and their own power instead of looking to the Lord Who was GIVING them the land. The 8 spies perceived that “they” were going to have to fight even though God has used the word “give” over and over. So the people are not going to enter the land after all – they are going to wander and meander for 40 years for a whole generation to die off before entering the land.  The Lord starts giving instructions because it’s not a matter of “if” the Israelites are going into the new land, it’s a matter of “when”. Check this out….

¹⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.

“When you arrive in the land where I am taking you, ¹⁹ and you eat the crops that grow there, you must set some aside as a sacred offering to the Lord. ²⁰ Present a cake from the first of the flour you grind, and set it aside as a sacred offering, as you do with the first grain from the threshing floor. ²¹ Throughout the generations to come, you are to present a sacred offering to the Lord each year from the first of your ground flour. (Numbers 15:17-21 NLT)

I think the example of the “first” is flour. It’s a great example of “first” because it’s used a lot in our cooking. I really enjoy home-made biscuits and the flour are an important ingredient. I think the Lord wanted the people to remember the first picking of beans, corn, potatoes, grapes, wine, etc.…. I think the Lord was looking for an offering of gratitude – remembering the first usually reminds me to NOT take these for granted. Remembering the first reminds me to be grateful for the Lords blessing and provision in my life.

I need to be reminded to be grateful and humble. It is too easy to think that I’m something that I’m not. Without the Lord, my life is nothing – but with Him, I have everything!

Pressing On!

Dwayne