I am inviting you to come along side with me over the next 8 weeks as we dive into God’s Word and gleam from it how we ought to prioritize our lives. In a culture that is pulling us in so many different directions, we all need the truth of God’s word to lead and direct us. When times are tough, we need direction. When there is a difficult decision to make, we need direction. When life throws us a curve ball, we need to have a foundation from Scripture on how to respond. Many more scenarios are played out daily in our lives. How we respond to them defines who we are as followers of Jesus. It also defines our priorities in life.
What will we be addressing over the next couple of weeks? How we can set our priorities on God when:
- Leading our families
- Understanding our occupation/work priorities
- How we deal with different relationships in our lives
- How we juggle our schedule
- How we spend our money
- How we respond to trouble times in our lives
The key scripture that will guide us over the next couple of weeks is Exodus 20:3 and Matthew 6:33. Read the following from Brian Anderson, founding pastor of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in North Phoenix, Arizona
Thousands of years ago, God gave us "the Ten Commandments." They are not the ten fads. The first and foremost commandment God gives us is about worship. Exodus 20:3 says, "You shall have no other gods before me." Whenever God says, "do not" in the Bible, it is for a positive purpose. When He says, "Do not have any other gods before me," that is for our benefit.
If we ignore God's warnings, we will be hurt. When we say to a child "Do not touch that hot stove," is that for our benefit or the child's? It is for the benefit of both of us. We say it because we do not want the child to get hurt. That is the way it is with God.
The very first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before me," is for our benefit. I have found that a lot of Christians today do not think the first commandment really applies to them. They think, "Well, "Don't have any wooden idols. I don't bow down to any golden calves or statues at home, so this does not apply to me. "A "god" is anything that has priority over the one true God in your life. It could be a person, food or sex. It could be shopping, a career, a recreation. Even golf and money can be "gods" in our lives. The principle behind this first commandment can be summed up this way: put God first. God wants us to put Him first in every single area of our lives. As we do that, we are obeying the first commandment. He deserves to be put first. He created you and me.
We exist because God decided that He wanted us to exist. Everything we have in our lives, we have because God has given it to us. God says, "Put me first in every single area." When we do that, which is the essence of worship. Jesus reiterated this in the New Testament in Matthew 6:33 when He says, "But seek ye first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you."
So, I am excited to spend the next 8 weeks with you as we journey together, striving to obey God and His commandments and seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.
Will you join me? If so, please do me a favor and follow this devotional time on:
1. Follow my Blog - http://firstjohn419.blogspot.com
2. twitter - @tylers419
3. Facebook - Like our page - Cottonwood Creek Worship - https://www.facebook.com/CottonwoodWorship
Videos to watch on this topic:
Looking forward to taking this journey with you! Keith
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