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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
It is common to hear people say, "God first, family second, work third." But what does it really mean to put God first? What does it mean to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your so...
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Andy Mangus
Supporter
In my simple way to answer this very important question for any and every Child of God, I submit my input like this: God wants us to first love Him; to know Him; to be like David in the Old Testament--to search for Him and to find Him! David was "a man after God's own heart" as the Bible states! To put God FIRST --(1st or 1ST)--is to intentionally prioritize our focus on this one thing on a daily basis! It is the purposeful intent at the beginning of our waking moment that 'Hey, God has blessed me with another day of living and I need to give mental recognition to Him, about Him and For Him!' Only God is Holy, Righteous and Divine and only He is deserving of our love, praise and Glory all day, in all that we do, say or think. (Revelation 4:11). For anything and everything that exists and has existed, He--The Lord God Almighty in Heaven-- created all. Most of all: He provided a savior for our very souls. He sent His one and only Son, JESUS (YESHUA) CHRIST to come to this cruel and sinful world to be born as a baby, grow up and 'be our propitiation', our Holy substitute for our transgressions and our many sins/evil deeds--so that we can be called His children. The Bible tells us 'anyone that does NOT know Him, He will blot out from being IN The Lamb's Book of Life!' "Depart from me! For of such, I --The Lord-- never knew you." (Luke 13:27 and Matthew 25:41) For it is only By and IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST that we can receive life eternal to dwell with The Lord In Heaven when it is our appointed time! God is a very jealous God! Only He deserves our Glory, Honor and Praise! "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created." (Revelation 4:11 KJV) As I like to close with my saying: "Praise God that He provided a Savior! And, His name is Jesus Christ!" ~~~Andy~~~
John Matthews
Supporter
The idea of prioritizing God in a 1,2,3 type of levelling can lead to problems. Should I do something with or for my family and not do something at church? Does my job come before my anniversary? Setting arbitrary priorities takes away from the overall quality of relationships with God, family, your work, your leisure time, etc. Does that playoff game mean more to me than anything else? Your priorities change depending on the moment, your wants and your needs. God should be the center of your life, not the number one priority. Priorities are set by the person making them. Your number one priority can change every hour. If your wife is stranded somewhere, your priority is to help her. If your child gets hurt at school or at play, then that is your priority. I could go on and on. Priorities in life change. God, and your devotion and love for Him, should not. Here is another way of "prioritizing" God. Think of God as the center of your life. If God is at the core, then every action, every decision you make will have the will of God behind it. You will always do what is right and needed because God is always there. God wants you to help your family when your help is needed. There's no competition with Him. But having God at the center of your life takes study and knowledge so that your decisions will be based on God's Word. If we represent God in our actions, we need to know what God wants us to do. That can only come from looking to Jesus' example in scripture and learning the will of God our Father from His holy Word. Priorities change. God doesn't need or require that He be number one. Let everything emanate from God at the center of your life. Then you can be assured that everything you do comes from Him.
Janet Austin
Supporter
All good answers. And let’s remember also, how we treat others is how we treat God. We find this in Matthew 25:31-46 (esp verse 40). Also, I find it odd when one spouse leaves the other spouse and their children to “serve the Lord” in the mission field. In my view, it looks like abandoning the family for an adventure. I know I don’t know anyone’s heart so I don’t judge them (and I wish I could ask them directly what they are thinking), but I can’t imagine that that is putting God first. (Note: I’m not talking about a 5-10 day trip; I’m talking about a year+ trip.). I sure would hate to be the left-behind wife.
Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another’’ (Rom. 12:10). The spiritual Christian does not insist on his or her own rights but gladly yields to others. And when obedience to God conflicts with obedience to man, then we must put God first (Acts 4:19-20; 5:29), but we must do it in a manner that is honorable and loving. Even if we cannot respect the people in office, we must respect the office. The counsel that Jeremiah gave to the Jewish exiles in Babylon is a good one for God’s “strangers and pilgrims” to follow today (Jer. 29:4-7): “Seek the peace of the city!” “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things [food, clothing, shelter] shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:33 nkjv). Haggai’s congregation had never heard that great promise, but the principle behind Christ’s words was written into their law. “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine” (Prov. 3:9-10 nkjv; and see Lev. 26:3-13; Deut. 16:17; 28:1-14; 30:3-9). It’s obvious that the nation had its priorities confused, but are God’s people today any different from those ancient Jews? Local churches can’t expand their budgets for world evangelism because the money isn’t there, and yet many church members don’t believe Matthew 6:33 and put God first in their giving. Measured by Third World standards, Christians in the Western world are living in luxury, yet their giving is low and their debts are high because their wealth is being used for things that really don’t matter. (Haggai 1) When we put God first and give Him what’s rightfully His, we open the door to spiritual enrichment and the kind of stewardship that honors the Lord. A century after Haggai ministered, the prophet Malachi accused the people of robbing God of tithes and offerings and thereby robbing themselves of blessing (Mal. 3:7-12); and his words need to be heeded today. My family needs this admonition too! —Warren Wiersbe
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