TODAY IS…

a superb day to put first things first.

“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”  Exodus 20:13 KJV

“That’s an easy commandment to obey,” you insist. “I would never worship anyone or anything but God.”

Surprisingly, even for many of us who believe our faith is great, it is not as easy as we may think, or insist.

Most of us are also aware that this is the first commandment. But why should it be first? Simply because without God, we are nothing. God created us, God gave us life, and God should be the most important part of our life. We should turn to God first no matter what our mood is or needs are. Just imagine for a moment what the world would be like if everyone accepted Christ and did what He told the Pharisee.

“And He said to him, ‘you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” (Matthew 22:37 NASB).

“But I do that!” you cry.

Be patient, because some of us will learn a disturbing truth.

Jesus also told the Pharisee lawyer what the second most important commandment is: “The second is like it, ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:39-40 NASB).

If we all really understood, and practiced, what Christ was telling the lawyer, we would definitely put God first, but we would also put other people before ourselves.

Still think that you do this?

How many of us can honestly say that our desire for material possessions doesn’t sometimes drive our actions? How often does what we do take precedence over our relationship to God and who we are? How often do we put God on the back burner to take care of ‘me’?

Why do we find it so difficult to believe Jesus Christ when He said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33 NLT).

No matter how much we try to kid ourselves, money and material things often become our primary focus, and the Bible clearly teaches us that.

“Who but a fool would make his own god – an idol that cannot help him one bit?” (Isaiah 44:10 NLT).

Money – fame – power; these are all modern day idols. They achieve ‘god’ status for many of us without us consciously making them so.

In today’s world it is easy to forget what truly should come first in our lives, but we must endeavor to put things in their proper order. God must always be our first priority, and the only focus of our worship. When we put God first and involve Him in everything else we do, our lives will achieve a fullness and a richness beyond anything we could ever imagine.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson