TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY APRIL 10, 2017.
FIRST
DEFINITION:
Being before all others with respect to time, order, rank or importance; preferred over anything else.
God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:1-3.
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33.
Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment.” Matthew 22:37-40
Everyone has many FIRSTS in their lives. Firsts are embedded in our memories and become memorable for the very fact that they were “firsts.” While these first experiences are significant they are not nearly as important as what we put first in our life. Children take their first steps and mother and dad run for a camera. Our first steps are only the beginning of many firsts to come.
If we analyze what our society today puts first in importance you would probably say it is things like success, power, money, popularity and such. With all the strife and unhappiness, we see all around us it is safe to believe that the emphasis, as they say, is on the wrong syllable.
What we want to talk about today is what believers in Jesus are commanded to put first in their lives. God has given us His Word, the Bible, to be our guide book. In the verse above from Exodus, God has left us His Words to the children of Israel and He expects us, as believers in Him, to live by the same commandment that He gave them. “You shall have no other gods before me.”
What God is plainly saying to us is that we must give Him first place in our life. He is above all of us and no one or no thing should be of more importance. We must earnestly desire to actively choose to put Him first above all else.
This means that our relationships must begin with Him. Many worship the God of making money. Others want power or popularity to be their God. Take a moment and evaluate your life. What do you put first in your life? Is God first in your life?
The second verse above found in Matthew reminds us that we are to seek God first. This means for us to seek God before every decision we make in life. Do you take the time to stop and pray and ask God to guide you in the decision you have to make? When we respond to His command to have no other god before him, God promises us that He will give us all the things we need.
And the verse above from Matthew 22 reminds us that we should FIRST love the Lord our God with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, and with all of our strength.
For many years, we have strived to live by 12 rules written in the scriptures. The first 10 are the Ten Commandments. And the next two are clearly written in Matthew 22:37-40: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
These verses, plus many more that we could share with you from the scriptures, clearly lets us know what should be first in our lives. Today we face many people that live by the rules of the “ME” generation. They put themselves first. There is no thought of putting God first.
Where do you stand? What is first in your life?
Our memory verse for this week is found in Romans 6:23.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
May Your Holy Spirit be a consistent reminder to put God above all else in my life. Help me to be a leader with my family that they may see that I honor God above all else and I seek Him first.
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