Word of the Week - Priority
“But seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness and all things will be added unto you”. Matthew 6:33
Priority defined- something that is more important than other things and that needs to be addressed or dealt with first: the thing or person that someone cares about and thinks is most important: the condition of being more important than something or someone else and therefore coming or being first.Making God our Priority – If there is one message that is very clear from the Lord our God, it is that He desires to be “The Priority” in our lives. The first commandment says “You shall have no other gods before me” Exodus 20:3 Matthew 6:33 above makes it clear that God desires for us to make Him the first and top Priority in our lives. I love this principal because it is very simple and easy to understand. God simply desires to be the first Priority in our lives and we know if we put God first we will enjoy the fruits of His spirit. With divine order comes divine blessing.What does it look like to make God the Priority – There are many ways that we prioritize people and activities in life but the Lord tells us several times in the old and new testament that we should, "Love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind, and we should love our neighbor as ourselves” Luke 10:27 With this in mind, I make it my first objective to direct my mind/thoughts toward the Lord as soon as I open my eyes in the morning. My flesh tries to lead me towards thinking about all of my concerns and the things I need to accomplish in my day but I purpose to think/meditate upon the Lord and how good He is and the many blessings He has bestowed upon me. The battle we fight begins in our mind so we must “Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ” 2 Corinthians 10:5 and His word. |Pastor Craig Groeschel, who is a world class leader and leadership guru who has an amazing podcast on leadership, recently wrote a book called the “Winning the battle in your mind” Winning the war in your mind. He says that “Your life is always moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts”, which is why we have to choose each morning to set our minds on the things of God. As we reflect upon the Lord, His truth and His goodness towards us, our hearts come alive as we are reminded of His love for us. He loves us so much that He sent Christ to die so we can have eternal life and live in the abundant life today. Personally, I make my connection with God through prayer, praise and scripture reading a “First Fruits” Proverbs 3:9-10 priority every day. I don’t always succeed but my heart’s desire each morning is to seek the Lord and give the Him my first and my best. Our Lord and Savior is surely worthy of our first and best each day.The Benefits – God is so amazing because He knows what is best for us and truly has our best interest at heart. Not only is He our Creator who clearly understands our unique purpose for being on this earth but He is also a good, good Father who desires to bless us beyond measure. He desires to do “immeasurably more than we can ever ask or imagine by His power at work within us” Ephesians 3:20 We can only find His blessing through a divine connection with Him, which requires us to make Him a priority every day and within the day. He is the bread of life and the living water and we can only receive His divine nature and our daily bread if we are connected to Him through the Vine of Christ. I love the fact that God leaves it up to us to “seek Him first”. The ball is in our court each and every day, He stands there with open arms desiring for us to pursue Him so we can receive what He has for us. My life verse is John 15:5 where Jesus tells us “I am the vine, you are the branches, if you abide in me then I will abide in you and you will bare much fruit but apart from me you can do nothing”. The only way we can find the life of the spirit is by abiding (connecting/pursuing) in Christ. This is His desire for us and it simply starts with making our relationship with the Lord the top Priority in our lives.I truly believe that putting God first and making Him the utmost priority in all areas of our lives is the key to abundant living that Jesus speaks about. It is relatively simple but is fueled by our desire to know God through an intimate personal relationship. My good friend Walter Tutt shared this short video start each day with God that I hope will encourage you to make God the Priority of your life.Have a great week.-Duane