Evaluate Your Priorities - Week 8

I have thoroughly enjoyed leading you through the “Putting God First” devotional over the past seven weeks.  I have grown in my knowledge and understanding from Scripture on the priority of placing God as FIRST PLACE in my life.  It is a daily practice and exercise to place God first in my life.  There is not a “one and done” formula for daily placing God first in my life.  Everyday I must wake up and voice the prayer to God - literally telling Him, “Lord, I place you as Lord of my life today.”  

To take it a step further, it is always much easier to say something than to say something and back it up with my actions.  My mom always told me as a child, and still reminds me today, that it is much easier to say something than to actually do it!  For example, it is much easier to say I want to make time for you than to actually pull out the calendar, schedule a time, create time in the week and actually meet with you.  Saying something and doing what you say are vital when we begin to apply this concept of putting God first in our lives.  So now I am going to challenge you to not only tell God to be FIRST PLACE in your life, but challenge you to take steps to make God FIRST PLACE in your life.

If you and I are going to get serious about our relationship with the Lord, then it is time for us to re-prioritize our life with God being the center of our life.  As an illustration, let’s look at a wagon wheel.  For a wagon wheel to work properly, it has a center point and spokes branching out from the center evenly to support the wheel for a smooth ride.  If the wagon wheel center point was off or not in the middle of the wheel, then the spokes would be off and the ride would be bumpy and eventually break.  The same applies to putting God in the center of your life.  If God is the center of your Family, Work, Relationships, Schedule, Finances and Troubles, then there is balance and perspective.  Yes, there will be bumps in the road, but when they come, you are balanced with God at the center of the storm.  The question I have for you, is God the center of your life today?  Have you placed God in the middle of your chaos and given Him your life today?

CHALLENGE

• Family - what one change can you make today to make God the center of your family?
• Work - Is God leading you at work?  If not, then what step can you make today to place God in the center of your workplace?
• Relationships - What one relationship do you need to rid yourself of today?  What one relationship do you need to improve and add into your life to put God first in your relationships?
• Schedule - Have you scheduled time with the Lord DAILY?  If not, begin there.  Make God the center of your schedule.
• Finances - All you have is given to you from the Lord.  Have you given your money and finances over to the Lord?  Are you tithing to the church?
• Troubles - What trouble are you holding on to today?  Give it over to God today.

Like I expressed - it is difficult to put God first in your life.  It cannot be done on your own strength and power.  It takes prayer!  I believe that it is God’s will for you to place Him as the center of everything in life.  It is your spiritual act of worship.  Listen to these words -  “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I will be praying for you as you put God first in your life.  If you begin to apply this concept to your Christian life, you will be transformed into the likeness of Christ.  Take the challenge and begin to see God work His will in Christ Jesus through you.

Here is a final thought 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 lives:

"How Do I Know God is First? As we put God first in these six areas, we are fulfilling the first commandment, and we are worshipping God. Yet, you may ask yourself, “How do I know when God is first in my life? “The answer to this questions is to notice when He isn’t first in your life. Worry is the warning light. If God is not first in any one of these six areas, I notice that I am usually worrying about some aspect of them. I have found that putting God first in every area of my life is really the antidote to worry. Look back over these six areas in your life, and do a little self-evaluation. Is God really first?

Blessings - Keith

Putting God First with my Troubles - Week 7

Troubles...who has troubles?  If we are honest with ourselves, we all have troubles.  We all experience difficult times in our lives, and sometimes these difficulties are a daily struggle.  Troubles can drag you down, exhaust you, deplete you of energy and life.  Have you been there?  Are you there today?

When we are struggling, where do we turn to find relief from our troubles?  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 times of trouble.

When I have unexpected troubles, problems, or crises, to whom do I turn? God says, "Turn to me first when you have a problem." Psalm 50:15 says, "And call upon me in the day of trouble. I shall rescue you and you will honor me.”  I have found that many people turn to God as a last possible hope instead of their first option. They first do everything they can in the natural to fix the problem and when they can't, they say, "Well all we can do now is pray." It is almost like if I have to pray about a situation, then it must be really hopeless! The reality is that God should be the first option in our lives and not the last resort. God always wants us to turn to Him. Peter tells us in I Peter 5:7, "Cast your cares upon Him because He cares for you.”

Did you hear the confidence in the Bible as you read these verses?  “Turn to me”, “Call upon me”, “Cast your cares upon me”.  The instruction from the Bible says to look to God in your times of trouble.  I agree with Pastor Anderson that many times we fail to turn to God first.  If we neglect to do this simple act of obedience by looking to God first, then we are relying on our own strength and power, not the Lord’s strength and power.  Since our God knows us better than we know ourselves, wouldn’t it be the wisest thing to turn to God first before anything else?

Application today - whatever trouble you are in today, turn to God.  Whatever struggle you are facing in life today, have you truly called upon the Name of the Lord and asked Him to help you?  Are you tired and depleted because life is bogging you down to the point of desperation and you do not know what to do?  I encourage you to cast your cares upon the Lord, for he cares for you today.  

Might you find the peace that passes all understanding once you pray to God and ask him to help you today.  (Phil. 4:7)  And if you do not understand why you are in the middle of trouble, read James 1:2-4 to gain insight from the Lord.

I am here to encourage you in your journey with the Lord.  If I can come alongside you and pray for you as you walk through a difficult situation, then please contact me.  I would be honored to pray for you today.

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  Keith

Here is a follow up to the blog today from Greg Laurie:
http://www.harvest.org/devotional/?utm_campaign=DailyDevo&utm_medium=email&utm_source=E14DD617
 

Putting God First with my Finances - Week 6

We are entering the sixth week of our devotional series on Putting God First, and today we will address our finances.  “OK, Keith, now you have gone to far.  I was with you on discussing relationships and time management, but why are you bringing up my finances?”  

In writing this weeks devotional, it is not my intention to get into your business of how you spend your money or how you give your money to the Lord.  It is my intention to look at scripture and challenge you with the question of what are you doing with your possessions and your money.  Scripture has much to say on this issue, and I ask you to read the scripture and ask yourself some honest questions in response to reading them.

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 finances.

Finances. God must be first in our finances as well. Proverbs 3:9-10 says, "Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce, so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.” God says to give Him the first part of our earnings and He will bless the rest. Money is the number one test of our priorities. Our checkbooks reveal what is really important to us. There is a good chance that if I were able to examine your checkbook, I could tell a lot about you just by seeing how you spend your money. The way we spend our money indicates what is first in our lives. Most of you know that in the Bible, God commands us to tithe. To tithe means to give the first ten percent of our income to God. Have you ever wondered why God invented tithing? The primary purpose of tithing is to teach us to put God first in our finances. The truth is, if I am not tithing, God is not first in my finances. If He is not first in my finances, He is not first in my life, Jesus said this in Matthew 6:19-21,"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." God does not need our money. He wants what our money represents. He wants our hearts.

I totally agree with Pastor Anderson’s point that God wants all of us - our hearts, our minds, our money...everything.  It truly is a matter of the heart - not the wallet.  It might seem easy to departmentalize how we live our lives in sections and keep this area of our lives apart from God, but after reading these passages, it is clear that we cannot keep anything from God.  It is all His - everything is His.

Simple and direct question for us to answer today is this, “Are you honoring God with your treasures?”  If we are, then receive the blessing from the Lord.  If you are not fully giving to the Lord, then begin today.  Honor the Lord with the wealth he has given you.  How you do that?  There are many ways.  Begin by realizing what you have - all of it - is the Lords.  Then follow the instruction from the Bible and begin by tithing to the church.  In addition to this, you can also support missions in your city, nation or the ends of the earth.  You could also donate to a local ministry that is in need of support.  There are so many ways to make your treasures honor God.  Begin today!

Prayerfully yours - Keith

Watch this video of a family who has allowed God to be first in their finances.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6odQa3AyU14

Song of Encouragement today - Lord Almighty by Kristian Stanfill

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=0BFF1JNU

For more information on how to become educated in your finances from a biblical perspective, go to http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu

Putting God First with my Schedule/Time Management - Week 5

If you are like me, my schedule dictates the direction of my day, week and year!  I have a schedule for everything from work, family, juggling kids schedules and more.  Our family had to print out a schedule for each person on Sundays to make sure we were getting everyone where they needed to be that week; and in that schedule we did our best to make sure everyone was doing what needed to be done without conflict.  Wow - what a huge task.

In the hectic lives we lead as followers of Christ, have we done the most important thing of the day and allowed the Lord to be the leader of our schedule and how we manage our time?   Have we paused to consider God’s plans for your calendar before saying yes to another commitment or scheduled event?  I am here to encourage you to look at the Bible and allow it to help us as we gain control of our schedules and manage our times from a Biblical perspective.  

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 schedules.

“Ephesians 5:15-16 says, "Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time because the days are evil."  Ask God's help to use your time wisely. Obviously, the most important time commitment we can make on a regular basis is an appointment with God. I am talking about having a daily quiet time. Everybody's life is so busy. If we do not schedule a daily time with God, it probably won't happen. The main way I can put God first in my schedule is by making sure that I have time with Him every day to pray, to read His Word, and to worship Him.”

I agree wholeheartedly with Pastor Anderson that if we do not schedule God in our day then it more than likely will not happen.  If we do not become intentional with our schedule and allowing God to be the leader of our schedule, then we can easily become distracted and before we know it, we have scheduled God OUT of our day.  Fight against this!  Yes it is hard to do.  Yes it takes sacrifice.  Yes it will force you to make difficult decisions.  But do not lose heart and choose to put God first in your schedule!

How can you put God first in your schedule?  Let us go back to the basics…

1.  When you wake up in the morning, simply voice a prayer like this.  “Lord, this is the day that you have made.  Whatever comes my way, I surrender my life to you and ask you to be the Lord of my day.”  Begin your day in prayer

2.  Read the Bible - make sure you are getting instruction for your life by reading from the voice and word of God.  Put your Bible in the way of your morning, so you see it, pick it up and read it before you leave your house.  Become intentional about reading the Bible.

3.  Worship the Lord - Romans 12 verse 1-2 says that our lives should be lived as a sacrifice unto the Lord.  If we live this way, it is our spiritual act of worship.  Place God first in your schedule and you will be worshipping the Lord!

So - Pray, Read, Worship.  Put God first in your schedule beginning TODAY!

Watch this video to remind you about what your day should look like.

http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/mini-movies/45846/Today-Is

Blessings - Keith