First Things First

Ok...so I have to start this post by saying I am probably the worst blogger in the world- I haven't blogged since January! I am going to try to do better, though! I have fun nursery pictures to share, but first I wanted to talk about something a little different.

Our church, Highpoint, is in the process of buying the building we are meeting in, and, as a result, our pastor has been preaching on tithing the past couple of weeks. I know most people normally shy away from this topic or are, at the least, bored by it, but it has really been a great series and I am learning so much. We were given the book, The Blessed Life, to read through each week during the series. I was a little skeptical at first, but God has really already taught me so much through the first few chapters.
While I really appreciate the lessons the book teaches on financial success and security in God's eyes (especially right now as we are about to have a baby and paying taxes and everything!), but I am really learning something even more important (I think) than that.

Chapter two of the book is titled God Must Be First, and it discusses how the very first of your income should go to God- because it belongs to Him already. While we have all heard this, at least if we have been in church for any length of time, it goes further than that. In Exodus 13:2, God says,

2"(A)Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me."

Every firstborn belongs to God. In fact, God says that the firstborn belongs to Him 16 times in the Bible. That means the first of everything we have, including our money, is His. However, God wasn't talking about money here. He literally meant the firstborn. As we are so close to having our baby girl, I want to make sure that we are fully giving her to Jesus. He has blessed us with this precious baby, and the very least we can do is give her back to Him. She is already His anyway! What a sweet and comforting thought! Now, where this chapter really hit home with me is when it talks about Jesus being God's tithe. I had never thought of this before. God gave his first (and only) Son for us. It was his tithe to us. In the old testament, every firstborn was either sacrificed, or if it was considered imperfect, redeemed. God redeemed the Israelites with the firstborn of the Egyptians during the first Passover. We are imperfect. God redeemed us with His Son, His Firstborn. If God did this for us, how can refuse to give the first of our everything to Him?

With all that being said, I pray that every day Jared and I will strive to give Arabella to Jesus. I do not fully know how, but I do know that we must seek Him and make Him first in our own lives so that her life is also totally given up to Him. The book goes on to teach how our tithe is either blessed(along with the other 90% of all that we have) or cursed. I certainly pray that Arabella's life with be filled beyond capacity with blessing, and that the same will be true of any more children God decides to bless us with. She is our tithe, and she belongs to God.