11/11/2022
I was thinking about this question this morning. Really, what is important to you? I do know that if you ask people this question at different times in their life you most likely would get different answers to the question.
God must be first in our life. The relationship we have with Him needs to supersede any other relationship we have in our life. When God is first then we find we can care “better” about other people in our life, and God adds things into our life. God is our example for being loving, kind, and merciful, and also He is the only truly just one out there.
Next, things/stuff is not the most important thing. Oh, we do need “things/stuff” to go through this world like somewhere to live, something to eat, money to pay for what we have, a job, health, and a myriad of so many other things, but God must always come first.
Until we meet Jesus, and He is our Lord the pecking order is out of order. Even though God must be first in our life, God also wants us to have relationships with others in our life. The thing is whether it is God or relationships with others they need to be genuine.
Matt. 6:33 & Col. 3:24
Matthew 6:33 says “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
In looking at that statement from Matthew I should see that God must be first in our lives, and when He is…then…other things are added to my/our life. As I look around this world, I am not seeing a lot of this.
Let us all be honest here….we must let God be First. I see, even a lot of Christians, are very much out of order…that is God’s order for their life. Oh, He might even be “up” there, but not really at the top of their list. To some God is important to say…Sunday and possibly Wednesday…but the other days not so much. To many, God is good and all that, but God is not all that important to them.
We are seeing in this world that good is now called evil, and evil is now called good and many, even of these so-called Christians, are accepting sin…even within the church as being okay. Even many who were raised to love God went to church and heard all the good of God…are walking away for “their” own life. They serve the world, but they are not serving God.
Look at crime. It is everywhere. You can’t go out of your home, especially in some cities because the crime is so bad…you just might not make it home. Laws are no longer protecting the victims around the country in many areas. People are let out of jail after horrendous things they have done, and they go right back and do it all over again for there are no consequences (in this life) for the things they have done. They think they got away with it. Police were defunded and people have open season to hurt or kill our wonderful police. However, when they need them…they expect them to be there to protect them. Governors who are bought, mayors who are insane, DAs who don’t prosecute, and people who know that, in some areas, they can just do whatever the heck they want. Some have been arrested so many times…and before the day is over they are out there thinking they got away with their crimes so they believe and do go out and commit more.
So let’s talk about the “church” for a moment here. Everything demonic has slithered its way into the church. Look around people. If your church teaches anything other than the truth they will never be in the right with God. There are pastors in these churches who are marrying men to men, women to women, telling their congregation this is now okay with God, that abortions are okay and it is their body (No, it is a human baby being formed, and they have rights too). God “NEVER” calls sin, okay, doesn’t change His mind as to what sin is, and eventually, all sin will be punished. People might think they get away with their sins but God will deal with these people at some point. Many so-called pastors want the people in the church not to meet and love Jesus, but possibly to make themselves look good in the eyes of the sinners. After all, if people believe they can do whatever and this or that pastor tells them it is now okay…they will stay there and think that it must be okay because that pastor says it is okay. Wrong is wrong, sin is sin, lies are lies, and those pastors doing this will wake up and face an even greater punishment one day. Think on this: Man has taken the law of God, and twisted it in such a way that it’s now lawful (in their eyes_ to be wrong and unlawful to be right. The reason is we have failed to Let God be First. God must be first! If He is first then we will follow Him no matter who tries to justify sin to us.
Now even though we know God must be first in the life of “His” kids, God does not force Himself on us. We must choose to follow or reject Him. In Exodus 20:3 the very first commandment “Thou shall have no other gods before me.” His prerequisite is to be first, but he will not force his way into the position of being first upon us; therefore the ability, responsibility, and capability of God being first to lie within every one of us.
I see a problem here…do you see it too? We, as humans, want our life to be whatever we desire and not what God desires for us. We do a lot of dumb and stupid things in life. The flesh gets in the way, emotions, lusts, and so much more. We get tangled up with what we call “life” because we all think we are smarter than God and can do whatever the heck we want. Paul lets us know in Romans 7:18 “For I know that in me (that is in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing.” So in looking at that statement…how do you see it? Our flesh wants whatever it wants, but many things are wrong to want even if society now tells you it is okay to want those things. What does God say is right and wrong? He is our resource for the truth.
If your mind wants something, even though wrong, it tells the flesh wouldn’t it be nice to have that, the flesh now gets the desire for it. Desires come out of our mind, and even if we don’t want to admit it…we can change those desires with the help of God. The Bible says “Let the same mind that is in Christ Jesus be also in you”, because Jesus’s mind was to do the will of his father and his flesh was in subjection to his mind. We all sin that is a given so if you say not you…you just sinned and you lied. Are we bringing the flesh, the desires, under control? If not, then we allow the desires, the wants, and the motivations of the flesh to give its’ first loyalty to everything else but God. People, we must “all” learn to control our desires so that our desires “always” line up with the word of God and not culture, society, or churches that have allowed the devil and his cohorts to sneak in.
Before you became a Christian what did you indulge in? What sins were important to you? Who did you “step” on to get where you thought you wanted to be? What was important to you? The top job? The money in the bank? The stuff that made you look rich in the sight of others? The fancy home and cars? Was it to have the “right” people in your life? The fancy places to go to so you looked important? But know this if the next day you lost everything you had or thought was important to you in life…would all that matter and would those people you felt were what you had to have…would they still be there for you? Isn’t it funny (not) that people think money, and popularity, with what blesses them? People are so out of order that they confuse resources with source! By source, I mean God Almighty!!! God is our source. Without God, you are and have nothing. You can’t go one day without breathing. God is your source and God is my source. If He is first then whatever I have in life is important enough to care for it. So what happens is we devote all of our strength trying to reach unachievable outlooks all that this flesh may be satisfied and what little we have left we then offer unto God if our flesh isn’t too tired. The question is, how much of your life, your time, and your talent, do you give to God to be able to use you in some way?
Our flesh is not satisfied. We always, as humans think we want more, need more, and anything less…we just are not satisfied. We will need that “one” more thing so we can feel we reached what we wanted in life, but when we do reach one more…we need and want one more, and so on. No matter how much success you get in life, no matter the size of your bank account, or property you own… you will never be truly blessed until you “Let God be First.”
How many times, even in the last year, have you read or seen on the news that someone rich or famous who seemed to have it all…killed themselves? Oh, they had the fame, the money, the homes, the cars, took trips with no problem, ate out at fancy places, and so on, but the one thing missing in their life…was God was not first! Life and things got in the way but life and things don’t fulfill your soul.
Oh, people if only we did as God says. If only we learned of Him and made Him first in our life. It is when we allow God to be First, he becomes our point man and he leads us through the harsh territory of the devil. He points out the land mines, the snares, and the traps that are laid to entrap us and he leads us around them. I don’t even know how many times God took me out of the way of danger. I am so thankful.
In our reality what happens to the point man is that they are there to protect us…but if they are in the wrong then they are putting their own lives in danger to protect ours, and it never means that even if they are taken out that you won’t be taken out as well. But when our Lord and Savior is our “point man”….He will lead us around many of the land mines out there, collect the darts so they don’t hit us so deeply, and help us defend the enemy. It does not mean we won’t face hard times, but I would rather take God on my daily errands than anyone else. God must always come first! Then spouse, then kids, then another family, then others. In Psalms 23 David understood something he said, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me.”
Jesus is my point Man! That amazes me. I have decided and told you publicly that Jesus is my Lord and Savior. I might face problems, circumstances, persecution, loss, etc, but in it all, I know who my Jesus is, what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do. I know the end of the book. I’ll stay the course with His help and allow Him to guide me. If I fall one time or many…there He is and He helped me back up so I could continue my journey through life. The reason so many people are dying spiritually is they fail to Let God be First and they leave themselves open to the attacks of the devil. I need Jesus every moment of every day. Some days are difficult and I won’t lie about that. But then I can go pray some more and still feel His peace over my life even in the most difficult of times. I must trust God to take me through even if many storms come my way. I don’t want to go my way any longer, I want to go His way. God is meant to lead and I/we are meant to follow.
God has offered us all an inheritance of heaven and whatever is there in heaven. But to receive an inheritance there has to be a relationship, there has to be a connection. Just as we don’t leave things to evil people but want our loved ones to inherit something from us…so does God. He wants us to have heaven and spend eternity with Him.
Even if today or tomorrow we were to lose everything we worked for, and hold dear in life…in the end would it matter? If God is first then He is in heaven getting our home ready for us. We don’t know what heaven will be like and that is okay. We know there will be no more pain, sorrow, death, sickness, and no more sin. I’ll take that! This world offers me nothing. I stand on the word of God even if at times I mess up. I know exactly whom to go to and confess and repent. I know that God will help me get right with Him. That is truly amazing. He wants my life right with Him, and He wants your life right with Him. What He offers to me He is offering to you. I can’t accept for you or I would, and you can’t accept for me. I choose Jesus. I choose to put God first. Do you?