Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” 

Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines ‘first’ as: Before all others in order of time, or progression. Preceding all others in rank.

Now, I know, that you know, what first place means. It’s the top, above everything else.  This verse is telling us that this is where God is supposed to be in our lives.  TOP priority in all our considerations.  But, I fear, if we are honest, that this is not where He is located in the scheme of our activities.  It would probably surprise us as to how far down on the list He is in our daily lives.  Often, we work Him in – if possible.  Other times, He is below the line of what we have time for.  SHAME ON US!

In the earlier verses of this chapter God is talking about meeting the essential needs of our lives – food, drink, and clothing. Verse 32b says, “for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”

The problem comes when these needs became the ‘top priority’ in our lives and not God. We can get caught up in the survival mode and feel everything is depending on us.  God is telling us plain and simple that we are to put Him first and then He will take care of everything else.  (Now, God knows that you have to work and He encourages this throughout the Scriptures.  In fact, He has nothing good to say about the sluggard or lazy person.)

It really is a condition of the heart. Are you thinking about and seeking God in all the demands of the day?  Do you acknowledge His presence and talk to Him as you walk through the activities of life?  Do you spend time in His Word every day? Do you choose God’s ways over your own desires?  All these areas are ways that we put God ‘first’ in our lives.

Life is demanding. These is a constant battle going on for your time.  You will have to fight to keep God in first place.  It is possible – just keep your focus where it should be – ON GOD!

Psalm 118:24 “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” 

Two wonderful thoughts are conveyed in this verse:

One –   God has made today and He is in control of ALL that happens in it.  Focus on this fact and not on the circumstances that a day may bring forth.  You may be tempted to grumble and complain about life OR  you can do what God says in I Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Be thankful when things are going the way you desire and be thankful when they are not.Good times and hard times are all part of the “everything” represented in this verse.

Two –   Rejoice.  We need to have a good and joyous attitude about each day that God has allowed us to live through.  To be glad is to be happy and happiness is a CHOICE we need to make every day.  Happiness is not centered around what is happening around you, it should be centered in the fact that God loves you and has promised never to     leave you nor forsake you.  We have an eternity with God to look forward to and this    truth alone gives us cause to be joyous through each and every day.

TODAY – Thank God and remember to rejoice in His love and presence in your life!

Galatians 6:9, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” 

Being tired is a natural part of working hard, but this verse is talking about something else.

It’s talking about getting tired from doing good deeds. It’s about getting weary trying to follow God’s ways in an ungodly world.

• It’s about choosing right over wrong.
• It’s about doing good works that are a testimony for God.
• It’s about helping others and being kind.
• It’s about showing God’s love through your life.
• It’s about putting self in the back seat and putting others first.

Often times there is no one out there saying thank you or appreciating the efforts that you are putting forth. Always remember, that God knows all about it, and He tells you quite simply – don’t get weary and don’t give up.  Keep on keeping on. You are doing it for Me and I care.  I see the work you are putting forth because you love Me and I will bless your life and your efforts.

You sow the seeds of doing good and God promises you will reap – if you don’t give up!

Proverbs 12:25 “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop, but a good word maketh it glad.”

God understands the heaviness of heart, the hurting soul, the difficulties of life that make us want to give up and quit. He understands the “what’s the use” times in our lives.   But, He also understands the nature of man.  “A good word maketh it glad.”  Wow!  We have the power of a good word with us at all times.  We have the ability to help those that are down trodden and sad.  God says that something as simple as a “good word” can help those who are hurting.

So…what is a “good word”? It could be to encourage someone, to help them see that this too will pass.  It could be to let them know you love them and are there for them if they need you.  It could be to share a word of Scripture that is uplifting (now that really is a “good Word”).  It could be _ _ _ _ _ , you fill in the blanks.  The Holy Spirit is available to help you choose words that will be helpful.  All you have to do is ask Him!

God says you can encourage, support, build up, and comfort others. What a great opportunity we face every day to use our words to serve the Lord and make someone’s heart glad.

(This blog is an excerpt from my book, “I Want to be a Better Me for God,”  Chapter 25)

Proverbs 29:18a “Where there is no vision, the people perish; “

When we look at people around us – what do we see? Are we looking with our eyes or with our heart?  Our eyes see what they are wearing, how they behave, how they comb their hair, etc.  But if we are looking with our heart, we will see – if they are hurting, if they have a need, if they know God, if they are saved.

I think God wants us to look at the world through caring, compassionate eyes. Do you look at people and care about their eternal destiny?  Certainly, if we don’t care, we won’t share the Gospel with them.  We need to ask God to help us see as He sees, to help us care as He cares.  We need to become the fishers of men that God talks about in
Matthew 4:19.

Think about it – if Christians are not telling others the good news that Jesus saves, then the world is not hearing the message that God intended for them to hear. Thousands are dying every day and going to hell.

We need to care that people are perishing all around us. We need to pray that God will give us a vision.  First, that we will reach out to those immediately around us. Secondly, we need to see the possibilities of what God can do through us.  Let’s get up, let’s get out, and let’s care enough to be the witnesses that God wants us to be.  Let’s have a vision of what happens to people who die without the Lord and let’s have a vision of what God will do through us if we present the gospel to them.

(Excerpt taken from book, “I Want to be A Better Me for God,”  Chapter 15.)

You’ve all seen signs at the beach that say, “No Swimming Allowed”.  Or, signs in public places that state,  ‘No Loitering Allowed.”

Well, God’s Word could have a big sign on its cover that says, “No Bitterness Allowed.”

God knows all about the nature of man. We can get angry and we can hold grudges.  The Bible covers every scenario concerning the scope of man’s emotions – it goes against our natural tendencies to follows God’s ways above our own.

Luke 6:27,28 says, “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” 

This verse is very graphic in its description: there is no wiggle room to misinterpret what God is saying:

Enemy –  A foe, one who hates another and wishes him injury, an adversary.
Hate  –  To dislike greatly, to have a great aversion to.
Curse –  To issue a wish of evil against someone.
Despiteful –  Full of spite; malicious.

These are the people that we are to love, – we are to do good to them, – we are to bless them, and to top it off – we are to pray for them.   Now if this doesn’t go against the very nature of man I don’t know what does!  But, this is GOD’S WAY and if we are going to be living in God’s will than we must follow these instructions.  To do any less is SIN.  Don’t justify your feelings of anger and possibly thoughts of revenge because God clearly says to forgive them and love them.

Love, forgiveness, and kindness are always God’s way. Ephesians 4:32 sums it up quite nicely, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you,.” God forgave us of our sins and clearly tells us we are to forgive others, (no matter how justified we may feel to be angry).  To do any less is to be in direct disobedience to His Word!

Remember, “No Bitterness Allowed.” –  Only love and forgiveness!

Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” 

What a great promise! Our part is to desire and want to know God’s truths, and God’s part is to satisfy and fill us.  Since the Scriptures are the only way we can learn about what God teaches about righteousness, we need to have a desire to know the Word.

Hungering and thirsting are pretty strong emotions.  God wants us to have the same intensity of desire to know His Word and His ways.  It should be on the top of our list for activities of the day, before anything else.  BUT, unfortunately it often takes a back seat to other things.

This hungering and thirsting after righteousness is satisfied when we are actually in the Word of God studying. It seems that nowadays everyone is so busy.  This seems to be the most common excuse people use for not reading the Scriptures and mediating on what they read.  (These two things go hand in hand.  You must take the time to think about what you are reading if God’s Word is to become the guiding light in your life that it should be.”)  The second most common excuse I hear is that, “I’m too tired.”

These two areas may seem like legitimate reasons to neglect our devotional time with God. But, are they really?  I think not.  Life can be busy and we can be tired by the end of the day but the truth is we find time for many of the things that we desire to do:  watch T.V., read a newspaper, talk on the phone, check out face book, work on the computer, etc.    If we are truly hungering and thirsting to fellowship with God and grow in the knowledge of His Word, we will find time to do so.

My challenge for you today is to evaluate the way you spend your time and decide if your priorities are what they should be – God first – before everything else!

Proverbs 3:27,28, “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.”   “Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.” 

This particular verse is concerned with helping others. God wants us to jump in and help – now, not at some future date when it is more convenient.  (Wow!  I never realized it before but God is the originator of the principle – Do it Now.  This is a clear directive to stop procrastinating.)

“Do it Now!”

This principle can apply to many areas of our lives, not just helping others. So, what is it that I should be doing?  Anything that needs to be done – no matter what it is.  Stop putting off the things that you have the power to do now.  We all have areas in our lives both physical and spiritual that we may need to address.  Organizing, cleaning, losing weight,  (yuk!), being more disciplined in our Bible reading, prayer, and witnessing, to name a few.

Ask God to show you areas in which you need to become more disciplined. Ask Him to help you make the choices that are necessary to accomplish the things that you should.  Let’s start making these changes TODAY  –  No….. not tomorrow –  remember ‘Do it Now!’

Let’s become ‘doers‘ and not just ‘I’ll do it later‘ people!

Have a Good Day –  and get working!

Proverbs 28:9, “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” 

God expects something from man, but man wants something for nothing. These are two opposites of the spectrum.

This verse is basically saying that if we want our prayers answered, we must be willing to follow God’s ways and laws. There are many instructions for life in the Scriptures;  there are many directives in the Bible concerning how a Christian should walk and live.  When God says do this, we need to do it.  When God says don’t do something, we need to not do it.  Sounds simple enough, but our minds seem to be able to justify (or ignore) the things that we do not wish to obey.

The ‘I want’ part of man sometimes seems to be stronger than the ‘I want to obey’ part.  It can be hard to put self down, but we need to have respect for the laws of God and we need to follow them.  Salvation is a free gift from God, Romans 6:23, but after that God expects us to live differently.  John 14:15 seems to say it all,  “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”  If we desire to fellowship and communicate with God in prayer then we must be in the Bible and we must obey the Bible.

There is no way we can live contrary to God’s Word and receive blessings in our lives!

Proverbs 10:9a, “He that walketh uprightly walketh surely.” 

Webster’s 1828 dictionary definitions:

Upright – Honest, just, not deviating from correct moral principles.
Surely – firmly, without danger of falling.

Do right, do right, do right. In other words, walk in an honest and just manner and don’t deviate from God’s ways.  This will ensure that you will not be in danger of falling down in your Christian life.

To do right is a theme that runs throughout the entire Bible. It’s God’s way.  It’s God’s commandment.  There should never be a quandary over which way to go when confronted with a choice between right and wrong.  (Be careful, our mind likes to play games when we want to do something.  We can justify our choice by moving it into the ‘right’ category, when it really belongs in the ‘wrong’ column.)

Man is an interesting creature when it comes to manipulating. BUT, God’s ways are clearly presented in His Word and He never wavers or changes.  Right is right and wrong is wrong.  Make sure your choice/choices  line up with the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit’s promptings.

You need to know the Word and you need to live the Word if you want to walk ‘surely’ before the Lord.