I’ve woken up this morning with a challenge rolling around in my head...
The challenge...
Am I truly putting God first in my life
Now before I crack on with this thought let me say this... Anyone that knows me knows that I am a Grace preacher. I am ALL about the sovereign Grace of God. This piece is NOT about CONDEMNATION, this is simply a challenge that The Lord has placed upon my heart for me... I’m just sharing it with you as I think this is something we all need to be considering on a regular basis if we call ourselves Born Again Believers.
So... what does it really mean to put God first?
As I write this it is Sunday morning. I’d normally be getting ready for church, setting up etc... I started then got this overwhelming sense to just stop and write this. It also happens to be Mothers Day today too.
So here I am busying myself with getting church ready and God says to me, “are you putting me first in your life? Have you always done that son?
Wow! What a question! So what does it really mean?
You see, I’ve considered myself to be a born again believer since I was fourteen years old. Have I always walked closely with God throughout that time? Absolutely not! Much to my own detriment I might add. Like most other people I have had my times of closeness and distance from The Father. But The Lord is asking me this morning am I putting Him first now?
I would’ve thought yes, but I’m now questioning myself!
I have a close loving relationship with my God. I communicate with Him daily, I pastor a church, I, together with my wife Xenia founded and run another ministry At The Ark where we assist families dealing with the affects of child sexual abuse and family and domestic violence. I am DOING a lot of Good things... But am I truly putting God first in my life.
Do I prioritise my life, my ambitions, my ministry, my family, sport, recreation and anything else above The One that created me?
I would say yes I am!
This scripture in Matthew’s gospel is really challenging to read. This is Jesus Himself speaking... look at what He says here... He starts this little passage by stating that He did do come to bring peace but a sword! I bet you would you never have thought that about Jesus right!
Matthew 10:34-39 NKJV
““Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Here Jesus is clearly telling us that He wants our devotion first! He wants us to put Him above every other part of our lives.
Now here’s a quick challenge for us all on this Sunday morning... well any morning really. Do I put God first and gather with other believers to worship Him? Am I showing my children by example that gathering together to worship Him is more important than the beach on a sunny Sunday morning? It’s Mother’s Day today, is staying home or gathering together to celebrate another day more important than gathering with others to worship the King of Kings? Like I said earlier this is not about condemnation here. I am just stating that I can categorically say, when I was a young father I certainly did not put gathering together on a Sunday morning as a priority over spending time with my kids. I certainly didn’t give the example to my children just how important it was to put God first in my life.
I could state example after example but I think you’re getting my drift here.
Why do we think we can do this thing called life without actually including the God of all creation in every single facet of it? Challenged? Good! Me too!
Why not start today, start right now and tell God that He is now number one in your life. Just watch what He does. Just watch how your relationships improve, just watch how your finances improve, just watch how your health improves. Jesus stated this in Matthew’s Gospel...
Matthew 6:33 NKJV
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Firstly seek the Kingdom of God... IE: PUT GOD FIRST! Then all these things will be added to you!
I’m going do some teaching on this over the next few weeks or so, so keep any eye out on our church pages and YouTube channel if you want to hear more. But in the meantime, why not tell our Father that you’re going to start with Him today and see what His response is!
Have a great day and remember you are truly loved more than you know!
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