God First

As a father, what is it we seek from our children? Obedience is most certain high up on the list. But what I would place even higher is to witness a true blossoming relationship with God come to fruition in their lives. As I take that thought deeper I realise that obedience will come out of that relationship. And just like that my thoughts align and I am reminded of this verse; “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  (Matthew 6:33) – God first and everything else falls into place. I am not suggesting that life becomes a bed of roses, often the opposite is true. But of this I am certain, the peace of God through the struggle will be our portion. It’s about transporting our rational into a position so that we instinctively place God first in our lives.

When we open our eyes after a night’s sleep do we reach for the glass of water first to address our parched mouths or do we praise God and tell him we love him and then reach for the glass? That may seem trivial, but is it? I know that my heavenly Father wants me to love him with every iota I have and because we apply ourselves by faith this has nothing to do with the natural. It’s all about learning to walk in the spirit. What I am looking for, is for that to become inherent. For this to happen I need to align scriptures instruction into my understanding. I am taught that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. What this teaches me is that if I want my life to echo faith I must be feeding my mind with scripture. Without that application I will obviously not strengthen my faith.

 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) – Although it is clear that the train of thought behind this verse is referring to preaching the gospel and people responding to it, receiving the faith to believe. However, it would be good for us to carry that thought into our Christian growth. We need to constantly embrace the WORD of God, our lives do depend upon it. Sound doctrine is key to our growth and has an effect on our ability to love God. It is easy to be swept up by the hype of an experience as we are naturally inclined to feed that high. However because the Christian has now received the Spirit of God and He coexist with you, the spirit is always willing to align with God’s will, it’s the flesh that pulls us in the opposite direction. Have you understood the correlation between the two and has it settled? If not, you need to seek out God’s grace to arrive. Without a clear understanding of ourselves and the war within, we will never change. It will always be us first and God second. I am not suggesting that once we resolve on our responsibility to put God first in our lives that we have arrived. NO! The war has just truly started. It becomes a daily battle, but we are now aware of what our responsibility is. We need to put on God to shed all that resists God’s order in our lives. We begin to prove God’s will for our lives and our application to daily living changes. Obviously this is evident in a believer’s life when they are newly saved. The change we witness is radical. However as we grow we often make mistakes or become complacent, that is simply not good enough, I realise the work that still needs to be done in my life. But the days of acceptance is a thing of the past, all I want now is to truly love my heavenly Father not only in word but with my actions and for that to happen I need FAITH.

I need to constantly put myself into a position that will feed that part of my life. Reading the Bible, fellowship with other believers, listening to ministry, but be careful with this as sound doctrine is crucial. For many will come in Christ's name with their own agendas. A good place to start if you truly believe that God has saved you, is to allocate an allotted time slot to reading the Bible and praying, pencil it into your diary and do not put it off. The cares of this life will look to get in the way, but be vigilant.

I will leave you with this encouragement; “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” (James 4:8)

Signing off

Tyrone