37 Days of Sowing

A Season of Sowing—Thanksgiving Offering October 25th

“For everything there is a season…a time to plant and a time to harvest.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

We have had some incredible journeys this year as we have come together with a focused purpose to fast 21 days to start the year, read the Bible through together, and progressively pray and fast for the lost, hurting and next generation for the month of August. I think these times have drawn us closer as a church body, encouraged us in our obedience to God’s Word, and made us stronger and more determined to see God’s vision for our church and our lives come to pass.

We have just started another of these journeys that will last 37 days—from September 19th to October 25th. Our Lord has challenged us to bring all the unexpected increase during those 37 days—a tithe of the year—to Him in a Thanksgiving Offering on October 25. It is a declared season of planting for one-tenth of the year that will produce an incredible harvest for the other nine-tenths! We are incredibly blessed by the Lord and sometimes we don’t even notice it. He has challenged us to intentionally notice how much He is blessing us for these 37 days and bring it as an offering to honor Him. Then, we will be more cognizant of the blessing on our lives and use it more effectively for the remainder of the year.

This principle is taught throughout the Bible and has always resulted in a great harvest for those who obey. God told Joshua to bring all the spoils from the first battle to Him and the people of Israel could keep the spoil from the following battles. One of the major Biblical festivals is the Festival of Firstfruits where the people bring the first of their harvest as an offering. Jesus could not be touched after His resurrection until He had been presented to God as an offering representing the great harvest of salvation that was being released!

In 1 Corinthians 16:2, Paul explains the need to have planned, specially set aside offerings. Obviously, any offering given to the Lord is exceptional, but there is a special blessing for offerings that are intentional and strategic. Make it a point to participate in this Season of Sowing.

Here’s how it works:
1. Determine an amount above your regular tithes and offerings that you will give for a special Thanksgiving Offering on October 25th. For instance, Sheryll and I have committed to give $500 above our regular tithes and offerings.
2. Continue giving your regular tithes and offerings each week.
3. Set aside any unexpected increase and add it to your Thanksgiving Offering commitment. For instance, Sheryll and I received an unexpected check for $983 this week. We will give our normal tithe and offering from that this week--$100 or so. The other $883 will be put aside to be given on October 25th along with our already committed $500—bringing our total Thanksgiving Offering to $1383.
4. Every time an unexpected increase occurs, add it to your committed amount, finally bringing the entire increase plus the initial commitment as an offering on October 25th. For example, let’s say that Sheryll and I receive another $600 in unexpected increase between now and October 25th. We would tithe on it immediately—$60—and add the other $540 to our offering account. So on October 25th our Thanksgiving Offering would be the committed $500, plus the $883, plus the other $540 for a total of $1923!

The Bible teaches us that wise people recognize the seasons and that as long as the Earth remains there will be times to plant and times to harvest. These 37 days are a season of sowing. Think of it this way, our $983 check is a nice one, but it really isn’t a huge harvest. But if we plant it by giving it to the Lord in this Thanksgiving Offering, it is a huge amount of seed and we can look forward to a great harvest!

“On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once.” 1 Corinthians 16:2