As we continue to emphasize this transformational thought of placing God as first priority in our life, I wanted to address the area of our relationships. Read this verse from the Bible. “And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” - Luke 10:27. As we view into this verse, we recognize that God is not only first in our lives, but He is absolutely everything in life! Honestly, loving others as yourself is extremely challenging as well – and only possible within the context of a strong relationship with God.
As we focus in on relationships you have in your life, I want to ask the question, how are your relationships? Are you allowing God to guide your relationships? What does the Bible say about who we are to have relationships with?
Read this comment from Brian Anderson, founding pastor of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in North Phoenix, Arizona as he addresses how we need to put God first in our relationships.
If I want God to be first in my life, I also have to choose my friends carefully. We become like the people we spend the most time with. If we spend huge portions of time with the people who take God lightly, then it is easy to become lukewarm as a Christian. It says in I Corinthians 15:33, "Do not be deceived. Bad company corrupts good morals. "Dr. Timothy Woodruff did a study of sexual behavior of freshmen at Christian universities. He found that, "The number one predictor of sexual behavior was the behavior of that person's peers." It says in Proverbs 13:20, "He who walks with wise men, will be wise. But the companion of fools will suffer harm." We need to evaluate with whom we are walking. I want to challenge singles to put God first in your dating relationships. It says in 2 Corinthians 6:14, "Do not be bound together with an unbeliever. For what partnership has righteousness and lawlessness or what fellowship has light with darkness?"
Isn’t scripture great! It makes things so clear to us as we read it. The application of scripture is the difficult part. So let us put this into practice this week.
Ask yourself the hard questions as you evaluate the different relationships you are in today.
- What relationships do you have that speak life into you?
- What relationships do you have that pull you down and away from your relationship with the Lord?
- Do you walk with the wise or the foolish?
- If you are in a dating relationship, are you “bound together” by Christ?
My encouragement for you this week is to CHOOSE CHRIST! Allow the Lord to have priority over your relationships and watch Him transform your life.
Watch this video about speaking life to one another and allowing Christ to lead us in our relationships. Have a great week!
TobyMac - Speak Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rK6O0YtBRY&feature=kp
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