Michael Harrison's e-devotion

The following devotion is from Pastor Morris, Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, and he is one of my favorite preachers.   This devotion encouraged me.   Thus, I share with you… Exodus 23:19   NKJV The first of the first fruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. Imagine I’ve given you 10 one-dollar bills and you have them laid out side by side. My first question is, “How much is the tithe on this money?” I think most Christians would get this one right. The tithe on   10   dollars is, obviously,   one   dollar. But here’s the more difficult question. Which   one   is the first fruit? Is it the one on your left or is it the one on your right? Let me answer that for you. The first fruit is the first one spent or given. In other words, when you get paid, the first check you write should be the tithe check. I first heard this illustration from Pastor Mike Hayes of Covenant Church, and I like it because...

Mark 12:41-44   NASB And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42  A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43  Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44  for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.” Can you imagine being with Jesus on this day?   It seems to be one of those days that began the normal way but was laced with teaching moments between Jesus and those closest to him.   On a side note, I crave some of those teaching moments. Learning from Jesus had to be incredible, yet most days leave you and me somewhat callus to the small points.   The big ones are easy to grasp, to take notes from and to think back t...