Walking With Jesus

How to Be Fully Alive

“Each of us will give a personal account to God.” (Romans 14:12 NLT)

*Please read this important article by Rick Warren, but then pass it on to others in your spheres of influence who will profit from its insights. Let it help you in your prayers and witness for the Lord. Blessings, Ed 😊

At the end of your life on earth, you’ll stand before God and he’ll evaluate how well you served others. The Bible says, “Each of us will give a personal account to God” (Romans 14:12 NLT).

Think about the implications of that. One day God will compare how much time and energy you spent on yourself compared with what you invested in serving others.

At that point, all your excuses for self-centeredness will sound hollow: “I was too busy,” or “I had my own goals,” or “I was preoccupied with working, having fun, and preparing for retirement.”

To all excuses, God will respond with something like, “I created, saved, and called you. Then I commanded you to live a life of service. What part did you not understand?”

The Bible warns unbelievers, “He will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves” (Romans 2:8 NLT). And Christians who live for themselves will lose eternal rewards.

The Bible says that you’re only fully alive when you’re helping others. Jesus said it like this: “If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live” (Mark 8:35 TLB).

Then he repeats a similar truth twice in the book of Matthew and twice in Luke:

“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will save it” (Matthew 10:39 TLB).
“For anyone who keeps his life for himself shall lose it; and anyone who loses his life for me shall find it again” (Matthew 16:25 TLB).
“Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it, but whoever insists on keeping his life will lose it” (Luke 9:24 TLB).
“Whoever clings to his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall save it” (Luke 17:33 TLB).

Did you catch that? This truth is so important that it is repeated five times in the Gospels. If you are not serving, you are just existing—because life is meant for ministry.

What does God expect from you? He wants you to learn to love and serve others unselfishly.

Talk It Over

• When you’ve served others, how has that service impacted you?

• Why do you think God wants you to learn to love and serve others? What does that say about him?

• What service has God called you to that you’ve been putting off? How can you start serving in that way?

The Way to Heaven

“Jesus told them, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.’” (John 14:6 NLT)

In response to the disciples’ inquiry as to the “way” to where Jesus was going, He quickly responded that He WAS the way. And just to be clear, Jesus was returning to His Father in heaven, our eternal home, the place we go when we die. If anyone, Jew or Gentile, is to EVER get to heaven, to the Father’s House, it will be by the blood of Jesus who secured our redemption on the Cross.

For someone to believe they will get to heaven by their own effort, their strong belief, their good works, their religion, or in any other way than faith in the completed work of the Jesus of the Bible, they will be sorely disappointed. There is no other way, period, end of story!

Having said that, there still remains the practical logistics of making our way up the sometimes-treacherous pathway of salvation in Christ alone by faith alone. What do I mean? If you’re a Jesus follower, you’ve likely not found your journey to be easy. That’s not a term I would use to describe my walk with the Lord. In some ways it’s like saying marriage is easy. There are lots of ways to describe it, but it’s not easy.

Walking with Jesus is deeply satisfying, enriching, challenging, invigorating, rewarding, and in many other ways completely fulfilling, but rarely, if ever, easy. And, my sense is, that’s exactly how it should be. Perhaps we misunderstand Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28-30 where He said: “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Soul rest and easy are not one and the same.

If I’m struggling to carry a 100 lb. bag of concrete mix by myself, it may not be for you, but for me, that would be a heavy burden, so, if someone offered to help me carry that load, while it would certainly be easier, at least for me, it would still not be easy. Being yoked with Jesus certainly makes the journey much easier, but it is still far from easy.

Jonathan Edwards helps us when he wrote: “The way to Heaven is ascending; we must be content to travel uphill, though it be hard and tiresome, and contrary to the natural bias of our flesh.” Following Jesus can be very costly, just ask any of the original followers of Jesus or those who live in lands who violently oppose those who bear His holy Name.

Even those of us in America and other “free” lands, are daily challenged to compromise our convictions for fear we will offend someone in our efforts to stay true to our Savior. What’s my point? The pathway to heaven, while open to all who will acknowledge their sin and need of a Savior, is splattered with the blood of the martyrs who have walked before us. My sense is, unless and until we come to terms with the reality that our blood may also be spilled for our faithfulness, we won’t realize just how hard it is to make that journey.

Is it worth it? To me and millions like me it is, but that’s not the question. The question is: Is it worth it to YOU! Are you willing to trade the risks of some discomfort, hardships, suffering, and possibly the loss of your life on this earth, for an eternity of torment in hell?

Think carefully. Eternity is a long, long time to be wrong.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Giving

“He looked at them and said, ‘Go show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, ‘Praise God!’ He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking Him for what He had done. This man was a Samaritan.” (Luke 17:14-16 NLT)

Why do think Jesus healed those lepers? Did they deserve to be healed? Were they better than all the other lepers? My sense is, He healed them because they asked. Why did they ask? Because they were in desperate need? Was it because of their great love for Jesus? No, though they likely didn’t realize it, it was because of His great love for them! His presence invites us.

Everything God does flows from love. Whenever He gives anything to anyone it’s because it emanates from His loving heart. What does that have to do with us? EVERYTHING! If we profess love for and devotion to the Lord Jesus, everything we do, say, or think should be bathed in love. Obviously, we’re works in progress, so that doesn’t always happen, but when the Lord prompts us to give, whether a kind word or an extravagant gift, if it doesn’t originate from our love for the Lord and for the one to whom we’re offering the gift, it will be given in vain.

Amy Carmichael understood this as she wrote: “You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.” It’s obvious from the results of the other nine lepers’ behavior that you can receive without loving, but you can’t love without giving. What did the Samaritan leper give? He gave himself in worship of the One who gave healing to him.

Isn’t that, at its core, what salvation is all about? When we run back to the Savior to be saved, aren’t we giving ourselves to the One who first gave Himself on our behalf on the Cross? Responding with love for the One who first loved us? As believers in and followers of the Lord Jesus anything we give is evidence of our love for and devotion to Him, thus, should not be given with any expectation of anything in return.

The Lord knew the nine Jewish lepers wouldn’t appreciate His efforts on their behalf. But He healed them anyway. Like many of us, they felt deserving, probably angry with God for allowing them to get leprosy in the first place. Why should they be grateful for something they deserved from the beginning? Why do you think those ungrateful Jews would spend any time with a leper? Because He was a fellow leper. Do you think they gave him the time of day after they were all healed?

Obviously, not! Noone missed him when he returned to Jesus. What’s the lesson for us? The two most striking truths that I see are first, to always attribute every gift we receive as a gift from God who deserves our eternal worship. Regardless of its size or origin, give God thanks and honor for it. But, secondly, always give to glorify and honor the Lord with no expectation of credit or recognition.

We love because He first loved us and we give sacrificially to others because He first gave sacrificially to us. Do they always deserve it? Did we? The other piece of this that we’re not given clear evidence in Scripture, but my sense is that that Samaritan leper returned to his still leprous buddies to tell them about the Healer who set him free. Maybe that should be our attitude as well, as we return to our “leprous,” lost friends and loved ones to give to them what the Lord so freely gave to us when He saved and healed us.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Purifying Prayer

“But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6 NLT)

Why do you pray? As I ponder the reasons we pray there are essentially three reasons: desperation, duty, or heartfelt desire. Purifying prayer won’t happen unless we expect it and long for it. Why not? Because purity in the Biblical sense is sinlessness; it’s a desire so strong to please God we refuse to please ourselves by giving into our lustful desires, in whatever form they may rear their ugly head.

If we desire God plus anything else, we’re almost wasting our time praying. Why would I say that? Because only when we’re consumed with desire to please and honor the Lord are we going to hear from heaven. How do I know that? Because our heavenly Father declared at Jesus’ Baptism: “You are My dearly loved Son, and you bring Me great joy.” Another translation says: “with Whom I am well pleased!” Can anyone doubt that God the Father heard His Son EVERY TIME HE PRAYED – AND ANSWERED!

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Jesus’ obedience didn’t flow from obligation, but from love, the same as ours should when He’s our highest focus and ambition. Purifying prayer only comes to those whose hearts, minds, and spirits long for the purity of Jesus and are willing to pay the price in prayer to receive it. Purity, like any other Spiritual gift, isn’t given because we earn or deserve it, but because the Lord sees our heart is open to receive it.

When we long for a new car or anything material, a new relationship, job, prestige, honor, esteem or anything else to bolster our egos more than we long for intimacy with Jesus, we’ll not understand the value of purifying prayer.

Intimacy with the Lord grows out of trust, believing when we pray, He will answer, not necessarily by giving us exactly that for which we prayed, but that which is in line with His perfect will. Tim Keller understood this, reflected in his words: “God will either give us what we ask for in prayer or give us what we would have asked for if we knew everything God knows.”

Patience is a God-given fruit of the Spirit that manifests itself most powerfully as we wait expectantly for God to respond to our believing prayers. Every morning, I lift to the Lord dozens of loved ones, friends, neighbors and others by name who are lost and in need of a new life in Jesus. Have they all opened their hearts and lives to the Lord? Not yet! But they will! With my eye of faith, I “see” them kneeling in the Master’s presence, opening their heart and life to Him.

How can I be so certain they will? Because My Savior who doesn’t lie, said in Matthew 7:7: “Keep on asking, and you WILL RECEIVE (emphasis mine) what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks the door will be opened.”

The more time we spend in prayer the purer our heart becomes and the purer our heart becomes the easier it is to take God at His word. Please persevere in prayer, allowing Him to build your trust in Him, and to purify your heart to see His answers even before you ask.

Isn’t He wonderful!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Winners and Losers

“Those who obey him (the king) will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, for there is a time and way for everything, even when a person is in trouble.” (Ecclesiastes 8:5-6 NLT)

Do you struggle with managing your time well? Does it seem there are never enough hours in the day or enough energy to fill those hours? How do you prioritize the use of your time? Who or what gets top priority, your best time, when you’re freshest and most alert?

If you’re still employed, most often our employer/employees or those we serve as an employee get us at our best. We want to look our best, act our best, smell our best, be our best for those whose opinions matter to us, but, unfortunately, too often we seem to throw those desires in the trunk of our car when we come home from work.

Pastor Corky Calhoun addresses this when he writes: “When it comes to our time, there are always winners and losers. Sadly, way too often the losers are our family and God.” While most of us will look at that with sadness, realizing it’s truer than we’d like to admit, guilt and shame are of the enemy, not the Lord, so, what constructive decisions can we make to right what we see as an obvious wrong?

The first step is taking an objective evaluation of our priorities. For each day list what we deem “must do” for that day. These are non-negotiables, things like work, meals, commitments we’ve made to meet with people, etc. Then there are things like housework, house, lawn and car maintenance, doctor’s appointments, school and church activities, and social events. The list can be very long of things we want and need to get done.

Did you notice I didn’t include the two MOST VITAL, ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF OUR SCHEDULES? Spending time in God’s Word and prayer, including, but not limited to praying with our spouse/kids. It’s not uncommon to not even let these things enter our mind when thinking about our schedule. Why not? Because we’re too busy! That’s the excuse we use, but the truth is, we don’t give those things the priority they deserve because we don’t understand how not doing them is crippling us spiritually.

“Yeh, but I read a few verses on my break at work!” or “We pray before we go to sleep at night!” Which are good, but they’re not best. Too often we settle for giving God our “leftovers,” not our best. James MacDonald reminds us: “Prayer is purifying – as you pray, you learn to want not just right things, but right things for right reasons.”

Whatever time you usually get up, if you’re not reading and regularly praying in the morning, get up 20 minutes early, then over time, stretch it to 30-60 minutes or more. To start, read one chapter of Scripture and pray for the remainder of the time. If you’re not reading Scripture regularly now, start in the Gospel of John, read through John, then go back to Matthew and read straight through the New Testament. When you’re finished, start in Matthew again. Do that at least three times before you begin reading in the Old Testament devotionally.

As for prayer, make a written list of people and requests that you deem critical. That can include family, co-workers, classmates, neighbors, friends, your church and friends at church, but it also must include time asking the Lord to rid your heart and mind of the junk that collects during the course of any day. I hold my hands out in front of me and say some version of: “Father, this is my life, please remove anything that is unlike you, that’s holding me back from being everything You desire me to be. And give me whatever I need to enable me to become more like You.” Then throughout the day breathe prayers of help or affirmation. Things like: “Father, help me to represent you well at work/school/wherever you are.” Or “Lord, accept my praise and honor as I love you well in whatever circumstance I find myself today!”

Please allow Jesus and your family to be the winners in how you invest (don’t just spend) your time!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Expectation

“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children really are.” (Romans 8:18-19 NLT)

At first glance we may look at the verses above and think: “Finally, I’ll know I’ve been right all along about ‘them’! I know they’re not living like they should!” But that’s not Paul’s heart as he writes the words above. My sense is we’ll be so focused on the joy of seeing Jesus we’ll not be at all concerned about who else has or hasn’t made it in that moment.

What Paul is referring to here is our expectation of what we will become in Christ in eternity. In light of all we face here – the heartache, pain, suffering, physical, mental, emotional, financial, relational, and other problems with which we have to deal in this mortal body – won’t it be great to put all of that behind us and enjoy a perfect, painless, fully functioning body that will not be the source of any issues for all eternity!

Photo by Karolina Grabowska http://www.kaboompics.com on Pexels.com

Dr. David Jeremiah had it right when he wrote: “Our journey through life is like children who anticipate Christmas morning. They know something exciting awaits them, but they don’t know what it is until they unwrap it. Likewise, God has put in the human heart a longing, anticipation, and expectation that eternal joy is coming, yet for now we can’t know the totality of God’s plans and purposes until they are revealed. So, we live in a state of expectation and trust in the present: expectation based on God’s promises and trust based on His faithfulness.”

Which begs the question, are YOU filled with joyful expectation as you face your future? In your heart and mind, what lies just beyond the horizon for you? Are you dreading another eviction notice, negative medical report, being fired from your job, your spouse walking out, or getting mugged in the grocery store parking lot?

Is your cup always half empty or less because you’re so filled with dread it’s hard to get out of bed and face the prospects of yet another frustrating and painful day? Even today, as I write, I’m weak, tired, and feel like going to bed and pulling the covers over my head, but the joy of Jesus motivates me to do what I don’t physically feel like doing.

My love for Jesus and His love for me sustains and strengthens my spirit, body, soul, and mind, enabling me to do what I might otherwise choose not to do. While I can’t completely wrap my mind around what my resurrected body will be like, I imagine having capabilities I literally can’t even imagine yet. I smile just thinking about setting this body of clay aside and assuming ownership of my brand-new eternal body. Aren’t you glad your love for Jesus is far more than just the days of this life? I sure am.

But to you who are suffering and every day is a struggle, please “look up, for your salvation is near!” As a believer in Jesus what we see is not all there is. Yes, of course, in the midst of pain, heartache, and suffering it seems all encompassing, but here’s the truth – it’s not! There’s something the next breath might bring that is better than anything we’ve ever imagined. Let your dread become expectation as you invite Jesus to control your heart, mind and thoughts, as He prepares you for best journey you’ve ever taken.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Vows

“If you present a gift as a burnt offering to the Lord, whether it is to fulfill a vow or is voluntary offering, you will be accepted only if your offering is a male animal with no defects. It may be a bull, a ram, or a male goat. Do not present an animal with defects, because the Lord will not accept it on your behalf.” (Leviticus 22:18b-20 NLT)

The Lord has expectations and criteria when we make a vow to Him and to others.

Early in my life, even before I came to know the Lord, when I got in a jam I would “pray” “Oh Lord, I’ll do anything you ask, just get me out of this.”

One of those times was when we were tent camping as a family. We brought our 17’ ski boat with us, so we’d gone out on the lake when suddenly a driving rainstorm seemed to come out of nowhere. I was about 14 and wanted to be helpful, so I got the top and side covers installed to try to keep my parents as dry as possible, but in the process I got very wet.

Since I was already soaked to the bone, I volunteered to go back to the tent and get some dry clothes, thinking I would walk back, but as the rain seemed to get harder, I got the bright idea of taking the family car instead. This was the early 60’s when people left their keys in their cars, so I jumped in our car and headed to the tent.

With my rapid breathing, the heavy rain, and the cold car, the windows began to fog quickly making it almost impossible to see where I was going. I didn’t remember how to activate the defroster, so I just kept wiping the window with my hand, accomplishing almost nothing. As I prepared to turn down the lane where our tent was, I saw someone walking across in front of me, so, I cut the corner short to the lane on which I was turning and, in the process, heard a “clunk” on the passenger door. I’d failed to take into account the posts that lined the road.

This was the scenario that caused my first “Vow” to God: “Lord, if You’ll get me out of this I will NEVER DRIVE AGAIN!” I know, silly, right? But that’s how we are when we get in a jam. Unfortunately, that’s not the only time. Think of what we say when we get married. The promise to “love, honor and obey, ‘til death do us part!” Then we want out!

We might blame it on the “fact” we’ve fallen out of “love,” but God hears our vows differently. Fortunately, the Lord knew what I meant more than I did early in my life and has allowed me to drive for many years now, but He views our marriage vows and our vows to each other in different contexts very seriously. Tim Keller wrote: “Wedding Vows are not a declaration of present love but a mutually binding promise of future love.”

Yes, of course, we make promises/vows to one another for many reasons, but what should be the clear implication? Our present love for the Lord binds us to keep our word because of our growing love for Him! What kind of witness is it of our love for the Lord if we promise someone something and don’t follow through? Or worse, we make a commitment to the Lord, but don’t follow through.

“Oh, He knows how I am. He’ll forgive me!” Yes, of course He will, but a part of us dies in the process. One sin makes the next sin easier, but one strict, deliberate, and intentional act of obedience makes the next obedience easier as well. When we commit our character’s formation to the Spirit, He will empower and enable us to live truth and speak believable words our hearers, especially the Lord, will come to expect us to keep. When we make a vow as a Jesus follower, we’ll keep it, especially to the Lord and to our spouse 😃.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Presuming or Resting?

“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.’” (Matthew 11:28-30 NLT)

My wife and I were just beginning our long trip to a new home several states away. I was driving a 26’ Rental truck filled to the brim with everything we could cram in it, plus pulling a trailer with my car on it. My wife was following in her car. A few miles into our trip something didn’t feel right. Having been in this scenario a few times prior I could sense that something wasn’t right.

Pulling over at the first opportunity I began to check the tires on the truck, then the trailer. The trailer upon which my car rested had four tires, one was almost flat. We returned to the rental place, and they quickly resolved the problem by replacing the flat tire, but what if I’d assumed everything was okay and continued my journey? What if I’d assumed the rental company had been thorough and made sure all the tires were in good shape? How do you spell DISASTER!

Yet, on many levels that’s exactly how some treat their own lives as they begin their journey with Jesus. They wrongly assume because the grace of God has provided their forgiveness and given them a new life at no cost to them, then basically, doesn’t that mean they can continue to live as they always have and God will be good with it?

What’s going on here? They are presuming on the grace of God to accomplish something the Bible never promises it will. Yes, the Bible does say in Romans 8:1: “So now there no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” But a few verses later Paul also explains: “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die.”

When we think like that we presume on the grace of God to do what God never promised or intended for His grace to do. Grace is a free, unmerited favor of God given out of love to accomplish something in and for us that we could never accomplish on our own merit, but when we presume on that grace to accomplish our own purposes, as Paul describes above, death results.

Burk Parsons, who may himself have made some presumptions about the grace of God, put it this way: “The difference between presuming on the grace of God and resting in the grace of God is the difference between heaven and hell.” Do we sin as true believers? Yes, especially it seems as new believers, but once we gain some measure of maturity our habitual sin patterns should be harnessed by the Spirit. Does that mean we can never sin again? Of course not, we will live with our sin nature as long as we’re in our earthly body, but to the extent we yield our will to God’s, to that extent our need to sin will be limited.

God’s grace will not only provide for our initial salvation, which frees us from all past sins, but provides provision through His grace for all future sins, but when we wrongly assume that gives us a license to continue to sin freely without any fear of consequence, we reveal with clarity that we were never really saved in the first place.

It’s one thing to rest in God’s favor. It’s quite another to presume on His grace.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

How to Grow God’s Family

“Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.” (Psalm 40:3 NLT)

*Here’s another very practical application of the topic we’ve been exploring the last week or so by Pastor Rick Warren. It was just too good not to share. Blessings, Ed 😊

Because of Jesus, you can have your past forgiven, a purpose for living, and a home in heaven. Telling others about the hope you have in Jesus is the most loving thing you can do.

When people see the difference Jesus makes in your life, it has an impact. The Bible says, “Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD” (Psalm 40:3 NLT).

To help you share the hope of Jesus with the people in your life, you can start with these three simple actions:

Listen first. Every person on the planet has a deep hunger to be heard, to be understood, and to have their feelings validated. Proverbs 18:13 says, “Listen before you answer” (GNT). Your ears are great tools for showing love to someone. When you listen to another person, you can find the key to their heart.

Share your stories. Notice I said “stories,” not “story.” Why? Because you have many stories, or testimonies. A lot of people think they only have one testimony—the testimony of how they came to Christ. But has God ever helped you with a financial, relational, or health problem? You have hundreds of powerful testimonies that can point people to Jesus.

Bring people to worship. One of the best ways you can share the Good News is to bring people to church. As they walk into a service, they will see believers coming together, worshiping God, and learning together from God’s Word. Acts 2:47 says, “At the same time, they praised God and had the good will of all the people. Every day the Lord saved people, and they were added to the group” (GW).

Talk It Over

When was the last time you shared with someone the hope you have in Jesus? How did they respond?
Think of a time when you completely focused on listening to someone. What did you discover in the process?
How has God recently helped you with a financial, relational, or health problem? Who can you share this testimony with?

How to Join God’s Family

If you’re ready to trust God’s promise of salvation and join his spiritual family, this prayer can be the beginning of that journey:

“Dear Jesus, you have promised that if I believe in you, everything I’ve ever done wrong will be forgiven, I will learn the purpose of my life, and you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven one day.

“I confess my sin, and I receive you into my life as my Lord and Savior. Today, I’m turning every part of my life over to you. I want to follow you and do what you tell me to do.

“Jesus, I am grateful for your love and for your sacrifice that makes it possible for me to join you in heaven. I know I don’t deserve it. And I thank you that I don’t have to earn or work for my salvation, because I know that is impossible. I want to use the rest of my life to serve you instead of serving myself. I humbly commit my life to you, and I ask you to save me and accept me into your family. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at Rick@PastorRick.com and let me know. I’d like to send you some free materials to help you start your journey with Jesus.

Priorities

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33 NLT)

As vitally important as it is to share the Lord Jesus with those who are lost in our spheres of influence, it will never be effective unless and until we get these two things in their right order: Seeking the Lord Jesus “above all else” and living “righteously”. But what do those things mean? And how can we do them effectively and fruitfully for the Lord?

When I first began to date my wife, she was all I could think about. When I wasn’t with her, I wanted to be speaking with her on the phone. I hated to be out of contact with her. That’s how I feel about Jesus now. Every second, regardless of whatever else I may be doing, I desire His presence. “Lord, thank You for Your presence, help me, guide me, enable me, inform me, protect me, just enable me to sense your closeness.”

Whatever the situation calls for, I’m checking in with Him to get His input. Without Him I am nothing and can literally do nothing, so what makes me think I can accomplish anything on my own, without His presence guiding me? To me, that’s what seeking Him first means. Realizing He is always with me, for me, guiding, equipping, and helping me gives me courage and confidence to walk wherever He guides and to do whatever He asks me to do without hesitation and with full confidence that it’s in line with His will.

That relates to the second priority that we must always keep in view – living righteously. What might that look like? In a broad sense it means to live virtuously, but without pretense. It means to be innocent, faultless, guiltless, but most importantly, to be approved of and acceptable to the Lord. In its simplest form it means to not lose contact with Him.

A.W. Tozer reminds us: “In an effort to get the work of the Lord done, we often lose contact with the Lord of the work.” It’s so easy to lose track of why we’re doing what we’re doing, even something very God honoring. We can get so caught up in working in the energy of the flesh, feeling everything is dependent upon us. WE’VE got a deadline to meet, a sermon/lesson to prepare, a meeting to attend, a friend with whom to visit, this obligation or that – the list is virtually endless of ways we can invest ourselves in God’s Kingdom. Yet, to the extent we leave the Lord out of the equation, to that extent we’ve wasted our time and energy, because it will be of no eternal value.

As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 13:3: “If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it, but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” Love is who God is, thus, must be the motivating factor in everything we do, say, or think. That’s why it’s not optional as a child of God to try to accomplish anything in the energy of the flesh unless and until it’s given by the Lord as an assignment from Him and we maintain our focus on Him as we carry it out.

Priorities can be tricky and too often we can do the wrong thing, move in the wrong direction, invest in the wrong person or project, not because our heart is wrong, but because we haven’t listened to the Lord. If He doesn’t direct us our energy is being exerted in vain. So, how do we know what He’s directing us to do?

We’re back to square one – making Him our top priority! When we’re in constant contact with Him, when HE IS OUR AGENDA, we’ll never miss His directives or misunderstand His heart.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊