Article DetailsSpiritual Growth: Don't Put God FIRST In 2012! |
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January 1 turns our attention to the year, past and future. Have we come far enough? Did we meet our goals? Prioritizing gets much attention these days. Life is so busy that unless we figure out what's important to us, important those things will fall by the wayside. Spiritual growth is one of these. We talk about putting God FIRST in our life. But I'd like to submit to you that putting Him FIRST only makes our life disjointed, and prevents us from having the kind of relationship with God that I believe most of us desire. Think about it. What does it look like if you put God FIRST? You have worship in the morning, then you go about your day. Now that worship is finished and God is given His due, you move on to your second priority - maybe exercising, eating a healthy breakfast. Your next priority may be going off to work. Each item on your priority list is given your whole attention as it becomes your focus throughout the course of the day. And where is God? Well, He got His FIRST dues, so now He's satisfied and you are free to move on to other people, other things. Can you see how this compartmentalizes all of life? Each priority takes a slot of your time and focus. Each priority is like a slice of the pumpkin or apple pie you just ate over the holidays. May I suggest doing something different this year? Kick God out of your priority list! Yes, you read that right! Delete Him from your list of things-to-do! Now before you hit the "delete" button on this newsletter, let me explain. Certainly God is first in importance. The Bible tells us that. It also says that "by Him (Jesus) all things were created . . . through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things consist" (Col 1:16-17). But did you catch that He did not simply come first, but He is in the center of all things? And that is what I'm saying. God isn't an item to be checked off a "to-do" list.# He is the center of the "to-do" list! He isn't a slice of the pie. He's in every bite of the pie! Think of Him as the sugar in the pie or the salt in a dish of food that permeates every mouthful you eat. He is the heart and center of every other priority you have. Do you want a strong marriage? Let God be in the center! Do you want a strong body? Follow God's will and ways! Do you want to knit a sweater? build a bookcase? cook a dish? fix a car? Take God with you! Are you stumped with a work problem? Ask God! Don't know what to say to your son? Listen for God's answer! Need comfort or love? Find it in God! Want to do something fun? Make it something God will enjoy, too! Take God into every activity you engage in, every task you perform. Don't make Him FIRST, make Him CENTRAL! And if you do that, He will automatically be first, last, and all the way through. Let this year, 2012, be the year you place God central in your life.Let this be the year you make a giant leap in your spiritual life! |
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