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115 Bible Verses about Giving First Fruit Offerings
Think about first fruits – that special offering we give to God. It's a way of saying "thank you" and showing our love for Him. In the Bible, it's often talked about with the first harvest or the firstborn livestock. But it's so much deeper than that, isn't it?
Giving our first fruits is really about acknowledging that everything we have comes from God. It's about honoring Him by giving Him the first and the best – not the leftovers. It's an act of trust, like saying, "God, I know you'll provide. I know you're the owner of everything, and I depend on you."
It's a good reminder to put God first in everything – not just our money, but our time, our talents, how we use what we have, even the decisions we make every single day. When we put God first, we're saying, "I trust you, God. I want your guidance in everything I do."
It's like James 1:181 says, "He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created." That's pretty powerful, to think of ourselves as God's first fruits.
But God did raise Christ up after his death. We know that is true! Christ rose up to go to God in heaven. He was the first, so we know that believers who die will also rise up.
If you offer the first piece of bread to God, then all the bread will belong to God. If the roots of a tree belong to God, then the branches will also be his.
‘Tell Israel's people, “When you go into the land that I will give you, crops will grow there. When you bring home the crops at harvest time, you must take some of the first grain to the priest.He will lift up the grain as a special offering to the Lord. The Lord will accept your gift. The priest will do this on the day after the Sabbath day.
He chose to make us his children. He used his true message to do that. Because of that, we are like the first special gift that belongs to him from among everything that he has made.
You will soon go into the land that the Lord your God is giving to you. It will belong to you as your home.So now I am bringing the first food that has grown in my fields. You, Lord, have given it to me.’ Then you must put the basket down in front of the Lord's altar. Worship him there.In that way, you will enjoy a meal to say ‘thank you’ for all the good things that the Lord your God has given to you and your family. Share your meal with the Levites and the foreign people who live among you.Every third year you must keep safe a tenth part of all your crops. In the third year, you must give that tithe to the Levites, the foreigners who live among you, widows and the children who have no family. Then everyone who lives in your towns can eat all the food that they need. Then you can say to the Lord your God, ‘None of the tithe that belongs to you remains in my house. I have done what you commanded me to do. I have given it to the Levites, foreigners, widows and the children who have no family. I have not forgotten to obey your commands.I have not eaten any of this special food when I was weeping for someone who had died. I did not touch any of it while I was unclean. I have not offered any of it to give honour to a dead person. I have obeyed you completely. I have done everything that you commanded me to do.Please look down from your home in heaven and bless your people, Israel. Please bless the land that you have given to us. You promised our ancestors that you would do that. It is a land where there is plenty of food and drink, enough for everyone.’Today, the Lord your God commands you to obey these laws and these rules. So be careful to obey them with all your mind and with all your strength.Today, you have said clearly that the Lord is your God. You have agreed to live in a way that pleases him. You have agreed that you will obey his rules, his commands and his laws. You will do everything that he has told you to do.Today the Lord has accepted you to be his own special people. He already promised that he would do that. As his people, you must obey all his commands.If you do that, he will make you greater than all the other nations that he has made. Other nations will see that you are great. They will praise you and give you honour. You will be a nation that belongs to the Lord your God as his own special people. He has promised to do this.This is what you must do the first time that the land provides food for you: At harvest time, when you bring in your crops, put some in a basket. Take it to the special place that the Lord your God will choose for people to worship him.
The best of all the first crops from people's land and all their special gifts will belong to the priests. You must also give to the priests the first flour that you make from your grain. Then I will bless the people who live in your house.
It is the same for us who are believers. We have received God's Spirit as the first of his gifts to us, but we also cry inside ourselves. We are waiting for the time when God will finish his great work. Then we will belong to him completely as his children. Our bodies will be free from the power of sin.
You will also receive part of the first crops that people give to the Lord each year. I give you the best olive oil, the best wine and the best grain from these gifts.All of the first food that people give to the Lord from their harvest belongs to you. Any person in your family who is clean may eat it.
You must also give them the first part of your grain, your wine and your olive oil. Give them the first wool that you cut from your sheep.
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you this. One day God will cause all things to become new. I, the Son of Man, will sit on my great throne as King and I will rule that new world. You who are my disciples will also sit like kings on thrones. You will judge the people of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Eat the Feast of Harvest every year. Offer to me the first crops that you bring from your fields. At the end of each year, eat the Feast of Final Harvest. Do that when you have finished bringing in all of your crops from the fields.
Each of you should think carefully and then decide how much you can give. Then you will not be sad to give that money. Nobody has made you give it. God loves someone who is happy to give help to other people.
You may offer yeast or honey to the Lord as the first part of your harvest. But you must not burn them on the altar to make a sweet smell that gives pleasure to the Lord.
But Abel brought to God some of the first lambs that his sheep had given birth to. He brought pieces of fat from the best of his lambs to offer them to God. Abel and his gift pleased the Lord.
He said, ‘Keep every firstborn male separate and special for me. Every male who is the first to be born of his mother belongs to me. He is mine, whether he is a man or an animal.’
We will also agree to bring the first crops from our land each year and the first fruits from our trees. We will bring these to the Lord's temple.We will also bring our firstborn sons, as well as the first babies that our cows, sheep and goats give birth to. We will bring them to the priests who serve our God in the temple. That is what God's Law teaches us to do.We will also bring the first of everything that is ready for us to eat. That includes flour, fruit, wine, olive oil and other special offerings. We will bring them all to the priests and they will store them in the rooms of the temple. We will give tithes of the crops that grow on our land to the Levites. They receive the tithes that belong to them in each of the towns where we work.
Do not refuse to offer your grain, your wine or your olive oil to me. You must give your firstborn sons to me.
When you go into Canaan, you will plant trees that have fruit to eat. But the fruit will not be clean for you to eat. You must not eat the fruit for three years.In the fourth year, all the fruit will be holy. Use it as an offering to praise the Lord.In the fifth year, you may eat the fruit from your trees. If you do this, you will have more food to eat at harvest time. I am the Lord your God.
We will also agree to bring the first crops from our land each year and the first fruits from our trees. We will bring these to the Lord's temple.
You must give a cake as a special offering from the first part of your flour. Do this as you give your special gift from your threshing floor.From the first part of your flour, you must give to the Lord a special offering. Your descendants must also continue to do this.
When you cut the first crops from your fields, bring the best food to the house of the Lord your God. Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.
That is where you must take your burnt offerings and other sacrifices to offer to the Lord. Take your tithes and offerings to him there. Take the gifts that you have promised to give, and the gifts that you choose to give. Take the firstborn animals from your cows, sheep and goats.You and your families will go there to meet with the Lord your God. You will be happy as you eat together there. You will enjoy the results of all your work, because the Lord has blessed you.
Eat the Feast of Weeks every year when you cut the first wheat in your fields. Eat the Feast of Harvest at the end of each year.
When you cut the first crops from your fields, bring the best food to the house of the Lord your God. Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.’
You may want to use the first crops of your harvest to make a grain offering to the Lord. If so, you must break the new grains into small pieces. Then cook them on a fire.
You must keep safe a tenth part of all the crops that grow in your fields. You must be careful to do this every year.Then take your tithe to the place that the Lord your God will choose as his special home. It will be a tenth part of your grain, your new wine, your olive oil and the firstborn animals from your cows, sheep and goats. Eat them there, at the Lord's special home. Then you will learn to respect the Lord your God always.
From the first part of your flour, you must give to the Lord a special offering. Your descendants must also continue to do this.
The day when you offer to the Lord the first part of the harvest must also be a holy day. That is also the day when you give to the Lord an offering of new grain. That is the Festival of Weeks. All the people must meet together. You must not work at your jobs on that day.
You will also receive part of the first crops that people give to the Lord each year. I give you the best olive oil, the best wine and the best grain from these gifts.
One day, it was time for the harvest. Cain brought to the Lord some of his crops as an offering.But Abel brought to God some of the first lambs that his sheep had given birth to. He brought pieces of fat from the best of his lambs to offer them to God. Abel and his gift pleased the Lord.But God was not pleased with Cain and his gift. So Cain became very angry. His face looked sad.
That is where you must take your burnt offerings and other sacrifices to offer to the Lord. Take your tithes and offerings to him there. Take the gifts that you have promised to give, and the gifts that you choose to give. Take the firstborn animals from your cows, sheep and goats.
One tenth of all the food that the land provides belongs to the Lord as a holy gift. It may be grain that grows in the fields, or fruit that grows on the trees.
This is what you must do the first time that the land provides food for you: At harvest time, when you bring in your crops, put some in a basket. Take it to the special place that the Lord your God will choose for people to worship him.
So now I am bringing the first food that has grown in my fields. You, Lord, have given it to me.’ Then you must put the basket down in front of the Lord's altar. Worship him there.
Now you must bring the whole tithe that belongs to me. Store it in my temple, so that there will be food in my house. Obey me and then see what I will do.’ That is what the Lord Almighty says. ‘You will see how much I will bless you! You will not have enough room to store all the good things that I will give to you. I will pour blessings out of the sky like rain.
I give to the Levites all the tithes that the Israelites give to me. These tithes will belong to the Levites because they serve me in the Tent of Meeting. The tithes will pay them for their work.
One day, a man came from Baal Shalisha. He brought 20 bread loaves for the man of God. The flour for the bread was made from the first barley that he had picked at harvest time. He also brought some fresh grain. Elisha said, ‘Give this food to the people to eat.’
Then you can say to the Lord your God, ‘None of the tithe that belongs to you remains in my house. I have done what you commanded me to do. I have given it to the Levites, foreigners, widows and the children who have no family. I have not forgotten to obey your commands.I have not eaten any of this special food when I was weeping for someone who had died. I did not touch any of it while I was unclean. I have not offered any of it to give honour to a dead person. I have obeyed you completely. I have done everything that you commanded me to do.Please look down from your home in heaven and bless your people, Israel. Please bless the land that you have given to us. You promised our ancestors that you would do that. It is a land where there is plenty of food and drink, enough for everyone.’
As soon as the Israelite people received Hezekiah's message, they brought their gifts to the temple. They brought the first part of their grain, wine, olive oil, honey and all the crops that grew in their fields. They brought one tenth part of all the food that they grew, so there was a lot of it.
On the same day, we chose men to take care of the rooms where they stored the people's gifts. Those gifts to God were the first fruits from the harvest and the tithes. They had to bring these gifts from the fields near each city. They read this in the Law. They were gifts for the Levites and the priests, as God's Law commanded. The people of Judah were happy to help the priests and Levites who served God.
King Hezekiah told the people who lived in Jerusalem to bring their offerings too. They must provide the proper gifts for the priests and the Levites. Then they would serve the Lord in the way that his law taught them to do.As soon as the Israelite people received Hezekiah's message, they brought their gifts to the temple. They brought the first part of their grain, wine, olive oil, honey and all the crops that grew in their fields. They brought one tenth part of all the food that they grew, so there was a lot of it.
I also made sure that people brought wood to the temple for sacrifices on the altar. I made them bring the first crops and fruits from their fields for the offerings. My God, please remember to bless me.
Take an offering to give to the Lord from the things that you have. Everyone who wants to give something may choose to give these things: gold, silver, bronze;
The special part of the land that belongs to the Lord is the best of the whole land. You must not give his land to anyone else or sell it to anyone else. It is holy and it belongs to the Lord.
So Moses sent a message to everyone in the whole camp. He said, ‘No man or woman must offer any more gifts for the work of the tabernacle.’ When the people heard Moses' message, they did not bring any more gifts.The workers already had more things than they needed to finish all the work.
Remember this: If a farmer plants only a few seeds, he will not get much as a result. But if he plants plenty of seeds, he will get a big harvest.Each of you should think carefully and then decide how much you can give. Then you will not be sad to give that money. Nobody has made you give it. God loves someone who is happy to give help to other people.
But it must happen like this: first of all, Christ became alive again after his death. Then, when Christ returns, his people will also rise to new life.
Give to other people and God will give to you. He will give to you even more than you gave. He will fill your pockets until no more will go in. They will be so full that it will come out over the top. Think about how you give to other people. God will give in the same way to you.’
Epaphroditus has brought the gifts that you sent to me. I have received those gifts, so that I no longer need anything. You have sent me more than enough. Your gifts are like a sacrifice with a nice smell that you have offered to God. God accepts that kind of sacrifice. It makes him very happy.
Somebody may share his things with other people, but he still becomes richer. Somebody else may keep the things that he should give to others, but he still becomes poor.If you help other people with your money, you will do well. If you give water to thirsty people, you will not be thirsty yourself.
Remember to be kind to other people. Share with them the things that you have. God is happy with sacrifices like that.
Then you will be thinking a lot about heaven, because that is where you keep your valuable things.
It will be very bad for you, teachers of God's Law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites! When you grow spices to cook with food, you give a tenth part of these small things to God. You are right to obey this rule. But you do not obey the more important parts of God's Law. You do not help people in a good way. You are not kind to them. You do not always do what God says is right. You should have done these important things as well as the other small things.
Out of every ten farm animals, one animal is holy. It belongs to the Lord.The owner must not pick what animal he will give to the Lord. He must not change a good animal for a bad animal. He must not change a bad animal for a good animal. If anyone does that, both animals will belong to the Lord as holy animals. The owner cannot buy the animal back for himself.” ’
On the first day of every week, each of you should put some of your money in a safe place. Think about how much God has given you. Then decide how much you can give to other people. If you do that, the gift will be ready when I come to you. We will not need to start doing it after I come.
You will soon go into the land that the Lord your God is giving to you. It will belong to you as your home.So now I am bringing the first food that has grown in my fields. You, Lord, have given it to me.’ Then you must put the basket down in front of the Lord's altar. Worship him there.In that way, you will enjoy a meal to say ‘thank you’ for all the good things that the Lord your God has given to you and your family. Share your meal with the Levites and the foreign people who live among you.
Then Jesus looked up and he saw something that was happening in the temple. There was a box for money there. Many rich people were putting their gifts of money into the box.Jesus then said to them, ‘People from one country will attack the people from another country. Kings and their armies will fight against other kings and their armies.The ground will shake with great earthquakes. In many different places, people will be hungry, with no food. People will suffer with bad diseases. Things that show God's power will happen in the sky so that people are afraid.But before all those things happen, people will take hold of you. They will cause you to suffer. They will take you to the leaders in their meeting places and they will put you in prisons. They will make you stand in front of kings and rulers. All this will happen because you are my disciples.This will be the time to tell people the good news about me.You will have to answer their questions. But decide not to think now about what you will say. Wait until that time comes.I will give you the right words to speak at that time. I will help you to be wise. Your enemies will not be able to argue against you. They will be quiet.Even your parents and other people in your family will turn against you. They will give you to your enemies. They will even kill some of you.Everybody will hate you because you are my disciples.But your life will be safe with me. You will not lose even one hair from your head.Yes, you will have true life, if you remain strong.Then he saw a woman who was coming there. She was a widow and she was very poor. She put two small coins into the box. They had only a little valueOne day you will see Jerusalem with armies all around it. Then you will know that enemies will soon destroy that city.People in Judea must then run away to the hills to hide. People that are inside the city must leave it. People that are outside in the fields must not go back into the city.This is when God will punish the people in the city. Then all the things will happen that are written in the Bible.That will be a bad time for women who are soon to have a baby! It will also be a bad time for those women who have little babies! Yes, very bad things will happen to all the people of this country. God will be very angry with the people who live here.At that time, enemies will fight God's people and kill many of them in war. They will take some of them away as prisoners to live in all the other countries. Foreign nations will destroy Jerusalem. They will rule here until their time comes to an end.’‘You will see strange things happen to the sun and to the moon and to the stars. Down on earth, people in many countries will become very afraid. The sea will make a lot of noise with great waves.These things will frighten people so that they become very weak. The powerful things in the sky will shake. People will be very afraid about what will soon happen in the world.Then they will see the Son of Man as he comes in a cloud. He will have great power and bright glory.When these things begin to happen, stand up! Be brave and look up, because God will save you very soon.’Then Jesus told them a story to explain this future time. He said, ‘Think about fig trees and other trees as well.Jesus said, ‘Let me tell you this. This poor woman has put a bigger gift into the box than all the other people have put in there.When you see new leaves on a tree, you know that summer will come soon. Nobody needs to tell you that.In the same way, you will see these strange things happening. Then you will know that the kingdom of God will soon be here.I tell you this. The people who are alive now will not all die until all these things happen.One day, the earth and the sky will have an end. But my words will be there for ever.But be careful how you live! Do not eat or drink too much. Do not fill your minds with thoughts about what you need to live. If you do, that day will come as a surprise. It will catch you suddenly like a trap!It will happen to everyone who lives anywhere on the earth.So be ready all the time! Continue to pray that you will be strong. Then you will remain safe through all these things that must happen! You will stand in front of the Son of Man and you will not be afraid.’Every day Jesus was teaching people in the yard of the temple. Each night he went out of the city and he stayed on the Mount of Olives.Each morning he returned to the temple. All the people were going there early in the morning to listen to him.All those rich people have plenty of money. They only gave a small part of that. But this woman has almost nothing. She put everything that she had into the box. That money was what she needed to live.’
Everyone had as much as they needed. Some believers had land or houses, which belonged to them. They sold those things and then they took the money to the apostles.Then the apostles gave the money to any of the believers who needed it.
I choose to offer a sacrifice to thank you. Lord, you are always good, so I want to praise your name.
In this way I have shown you how you should live. You should work well so that you may help sick or weak people. You should remember what Jesus himself said: “It may make you happy when you receive things. But it makes you more happy when you give things to someone.” ’
My Christian friends, God has been very kind to us. Because of that, I really want you to serve God with your whole life. Offer your bodies to him like a sacrifice that continues to live. Serve him with everything that you have, and that will please him. That is the true way to worship God.
But I and my people are like nothing. How are we able to give all these gifts to help your work? Everything that we have comes from you. So we are giving back to you things that already belong to you.
If you really want to give, then God will accept your gift. God does not want you to give more than you are able to give. He will be happy about what you can give.
The whole earth belongs to the Lord. Everybody who lives in the world and all the things in it belong to him.
My Lord God in heaven has plenty of good and valuable things. Because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will give to you everything that you need.
Say “thank you” to me as your offering. Do whatever you have promised to do for me, the Most High God.
This special stone that I have put here will be God's house. And from everything that God gives me, I will give him one tenth.’
Do not refuse to help those people who need help. If you are able to help them, do it!If you can give your neighbour the help that he needs, do not say to him, ‘Go away! Come back tomorrow, and then I will help you.’
All of Israel's people will serve me on my holy mountain, Israel's great mountain. There I will accept them as my people. That is what the Almighty Lord says. I will receive your offerings, your gifts and all your holy sacrifices.
Warn those people who are rich with many things that belong to this world. Tell them not to think that they are more important than other people. They must not think that their money will keep them safe. They could easily lose all of it. Instead, they should trust God. He gives us many things, so that we can enjoy all of them.Tell those rich people to do many good things to help other people. They should be very kind to other people and share their things with them.
Both men and women brought beautiful things because they wanted to do that. They brought gold things and jewels that they had worn. They included rings, necklaces and other beautiful things. When they brought their gifts, they lifted them up as an offering of gold to the Lord.
It is God who supplies seeds for the farmer to plant. It is God who supplies bread for food. God will help you in the same way. He will give you plenty of things so that you can help other people. You will be like a farmer who plants many seeds. And God will cause those seeds to grow. There will be many good results from the help that you give to other people. That will be like a great harvest.God will make you rich with many good things. As a result, you will always be able to give plenty to other people. Many people will thank God because of your gifts that we take to them.
So sell what you have and give the money to poor people. Then you will have valuable things in heaven. That is like keeping your money in a bag that will never have any holes in it. There, the value of your things will never become less. There, nobody can take them from you. Insects cannot destroy them.If you store your valuable things in heaven, that is the place that you will be thinking a lot about.’
Praise the Most High God! He has given you power over your enemies.’ After that, Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth part of everything.
The Lord Almighty says this to the priests: ‘A son respects his father. A servant respects his master. If I am really your father and your master, why do you not respect me? You are my priests, but you insult my name. But then you ask, “What have we done to insult your name?”You insult my name when you offer unclean sacrifices to me on my altar. But you ask, “How have we offered unclean sacrifices to you?” You have shown that you do not respect the Lord's altar as important.You offer blind animals as a sacrifice to me. You know that is wrong. You offer to me animals that cannot walk or animals that are ill. That is also a wrong thing to do. You would not give gifts like that to your city's ruler. If you did, he would surely not accept them. He would not be happy with your gifts.’ That is what the Lord Almighty says.
Make sick people well again. Cause dead people to become alive again. If people have a bad skin disease, make them well again. Send bad spirits out of people to leave them. God has been very kind to you, so you should be kind to other people. When you help people, do not ask them for money.
The Lord makes some people poor and he makes other people rich. He causes some people to be important and he puts other people low down.He raises up weak people from the ground. He lifts poor people up out of the dirt. He makes them become friends of princes. He puts them in places of honour. The deep places of the earth belong to the Lord. He built the world on a strong foundation.
People who are kind and lend money to others, and who work in an honest way, will enjoy a good life.
Another of the women was Joanna, the wife of Chuza. Chuza had authority over all the people that worked in the house of King Herod. Another of the women was Susanna. There were also many others. These women were using their own money to help Jesus and his disciples.
If you lend money to a wicked person, he will not give it back to you. But righteous people are kind to others and they give things freely.
Then their father Jacob said to them, ‘If you must take Benjamin, do what I tell you. Put some of the best things from our land in your bags. Take them to the man as a gift. Take some oil, some honey and some spices. Also take some myrrh, and some nuts.
All the officers and all the people were happy to give this money. They brought it to Jerusalem and they threw it into the box, until the box was full.Every time that the box became full of money, the Levites took it to the king's officers. Then the king's secretary and the officer who served the leader of the priests took the money out of the box. Then they put the box outside the temple gate again. They did that every day, so that they had a lot of money.
You must count every person who is 20 years old or more. Each person must offer his gift to the Lord.Rich people must not give more than six grams of silver. Poor people must not give less than that. That is the offering that you must each give to the Lord. It is the price that everyone must pay for his life.
Then eat the Feast of Weeks to worship the Lord your God. Bring the gifts that you want to offer to him. Bring gifts that show how much he has blessed you.
The Levites and the other Israelites will bring their gifts of grain, wine and olive oil to store in the temple's rooms. The priests will store them with the things that they use to serve God in the temple. That is the place where the priests who are working at that time, the temple guards and the singers stay. We agree that we will always take care of the temple of our God.’
The Lord also says, ‘You like to go to Bethel. You say that it is your holy place. And when you go there, you do wrong things. So go there, if you must, and do your bad things. Go to Gilgal, if you must, and do more bad things there. You bring your sacrifices there every morning as a gift. But that does not make me happy. Every three days, you bring your gifts. But that also does not make me happy.You bring bread to say “thank you”. You even bring lots of it and you tell everyone, “Look at how much I have brought.” You really like to do that. So continue to do it, but it does not make me happy.’ The Lord God says this!
Go to the priest who has authority at that time. Say to him, ‘Today, I say to the Lord our God that I am now living in the land that he promised to us. He made that promise to our ancestors.’Then the priest will take the basket from you. He will put it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God.
The Lord said to Aaron, ‘I have given you authority over the offerings that people give to me. I give to you all the holy gifts that the Israelite people bring to me. They will belong to you and to your sons, the priests. That will be your share for all time.
Your children may say to you, “What does this feast mean?”Then you must say to them, “It is the Lord's Passover sacrifice. The Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites when they were in Egypt. He killed the Egyptians but he saved our families.” ’ Then the people bent their heads down to the ground and they worshipped God.
These are the rules for burnt offerings, grain offerings, sin offerings, guilt offerings, friendship offerings and offerings for new priests.
The Lord says, ‘All your sacrifices are not important to me. I have received too many sacrifices that you have burned as gifts to me. I have received too many sheep and fat animals. I do not want any more blood from bulls, goats and lambs that you have offered to me as sacrifices. They do not give me any pleasure.You come to worship me in my temple. But are you doing what I want? Did I ask you to march round the temple yards with all your animals?Do not bring any more useless gifts to offer to me! I do not like your incense. You like to have feasts at new moons, or on Sabbath days. But because of your sins, I hate all your holy meetings.I hate your new moon feasts and your holy meetings. They have become like a heavy load for me. I cannot carry it any longer!When you lift up your hands to pray to me, I have to look away. Even if you pray very many times to me, I do not listen to you, because your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean! Remove your sins, so that I no longer see them. Stop doing evil things!Instead, learn to do what is right. Be honest and fair in what you do. Help people who are in pain. Make sure that widows and children who have no family receive justice.’
When you give something to a poor person, do not tell anyone about it. The hypocrites do this in their meeting places. They also do it in the busy streets of the town. They do this so that other people will praise them. I tell you this. They have already received their gift. God will not give them anything more.Instead, you should want to have valuable things in heaven. Insects and water cannot destroy anything there. Men cannot rob you of your things there.Then you will be thinking a lot about heaven, because that is where you keep your valuable things.Your eyes are like lamps and your body is like a room. Make sure that your eyes are like a clean lamp, then your whole body will have light.If your eyes are not good, then your whole body will be in the dark. If the light in you has become dark, you will be living in a very dark place.’Jesus said, ‘Nobody can work as a slave for two masters at the same time. Maybe he will hate one of the masters, but he will love the other one. Or he will work well for one master, but he will think bad things about the other master. God and money are like different masters. You cannot work for both of them.So I tell you this. You should not worry about how to stay alive. Do not worry about the food and drink that you need. Do not worry about the clothes that you need to wear. Your life is more important than the food that you eat. Your body is more important than your clothes.Think about the wild birds. They do not plant seeds in the ground. They do not cut down plants to eat. They have no buildings to store food. But God, your Father in heaven, gives them food to eat. You are much more valuable than the birds.Even if you always worry about your life, you cannot make it as much as one hour longer!You should not worry about your clothes. Think about how the wild flowers grow. They do not work or make clothes for themselves.But I tell you this. Even one wild flower is more beautiful than King Solomon was. And King Solomon wore the most beautiful clothes.So when you give something to a poor person, keep it a secret from other people. Do not tell anyone. Your left hand will not even know what your right hand does!It is God that gives beautiful clothes even to the grass. One day the grass is growing in the field, but the next day people will cut it and burn it. God will certainly take care of you, much more than he takes care of the grass. You should trust him more than you do!So do not worry about these things. Do not always say, “What will we eat?”, or “What will we drink?”, or “What will we wear?”People who do not know God are always trying to get these things. But as for you, your Father in heaven knows that you need them.Instead, always think about the things that are important in the kingdom of heaven. Always do what God shows you is right. Then he will also give you the things that you need each day.So do not worry about what might happen tomorrow. Tomorrow will have its own problems. It is enough for you to be thinking each day about the problems of that day.’Nobody else will know about the good thing that you have done. But God sees the things that you do secretly. In return, he will give you good things.’
I would be happy to offer sacrifices to you, but that is not what you really want. You do not want a burnt offering from me.You want me to be humble and sorry. That is the sacrifice that you want. When people are humble and they turn away from their sins, you will not refuse them.
Zacchaeus stood up in front of everyone. He said to the Lord Jesus, ‘Listen, Master! I will give half of all the things that I have to poor people. I may have cheated some people. If so, I will give back four times as much money as I took from them.’
When another believer has trouble, we need to be kind to him. Maybe you have all the things that you need to live. If you see another believer who needs things like that, you should help him. If you refuse to be kind to him, it shows that you do not belong to God. You do not love people in the way that God loves them.
If you are cruel to poor people, you are insulting God who created them. But if you are kind to helpless people, it shows that you respect God.
The king will answer them, “I tell you this. You did all these things to help other people. They were not important people, but they were my friends. When you helped them, then you also helped me.”
Agree that the Lord's name is great. Bring a gift to offer to him in his temple. Worship the Lord, who is beautiful and holy.
They think only about more things that they want for themselves. But righteous people are happy to give their things to other people.
I will cause your descendants to become a great nation. I will bless you. Everyone will know your name. You will bring my blessing to other people.
If you give things to poor people, you will still have enough for yourself. But everyone will curse you if you refuse to help poor people.
But good people think of ways that they can be kind to others. They do the good things that they have decided to do.
When God's people need anything, share what you have with them. Always be happy to welcome people into your home.
If someone is kind to poor people, God blesses him. When he is in trouble, the Lord rescues him.
Give to the Lord as much as you are able to. Your gifts may be large or small, as much as the Lord has blessed you.
You must be sure that your light shines well. Then you will give light to other people. They will see all the good things that you do. Then they will praise God, who is your Father in heaven.’
They should offer sacrifices to thank God. They should sing aloud to tell about what he has done.
A person may want to give a grain offering to the Lord. He must choose the best flour for his offering. He must pour olive oil on the flour and he must put incense on it.The part of the grain offering that remains will belong to Aaron and his sons. It is a very holy part of the gifts that people offer to the Lord.You must not use yeast in any grain offering that you give to the Lord. You must not give any yeast or honey to the priests for them to burn as a gift to the Lord.You may offer yeast or honey to the Lord as the first part of your harvest. But you must not burn them on the altar to make a sweet smell that gives pleasure to the Lord.You must put salt on all your grain offerings. Salt is a mark of God's covenant with you, his people. So do not forget to put salt on all your grain offerings. You may want to use the first crops of your harvest to make a grain offering to the Lord. If so, you must break the new grains into small pieces. Then cook them on a fire.It is a grain offering, so you must put olive oil and incense on it.The priest will take a part of the grain and olive oil, together with all the incense. He will burn that part as a gift to the Lord.He must take it to Aaron's sons, the priests. The priest will take some of the flour and its olive oil in his hand. He will also take all the incense. He will burn this part of the offering on the altar as a gift to the Lord. The smell of the offering will give pleasure to the Lord.The part of the grain offering that remains will belong to Aaron and his sons. It is a very holy part of the gifts that people offer to the Lord.
All the believers continued to meet together often. They shared all their things with each other.They sold some of their own things. Then they gave that money to any believers who needed it.
You may be bad, but even you know how to give good things to your children. Your Father in heaven knows much better than you do how to give good things to his children. He will give good things to everyone who asks him.
You have so much of everything! You trust God very well. You speak well. You know everything. You want to do many good things. You love us even more than we love you! So also do the best that you can as you give money to help others.