Putting God First

Readings:
II Chronicles 7
Acts 18:12-28

Focus:
II Chronicles 7:21b-22a: "...they will ask, 'Why has the Lord so treated this land and this house?' The answer will be, 'Because they forsook the Lord the God of their forefathers....'"

Throughout the Bible one thing is very clear: we are to remain true to God. As Jesus says, the first and greatest commandment is that we shall love the Lord God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength. And out of the Ten Commandments, the first is that we shall have no other god but the Lord.

The worst sin of all is that we should make anything--anything at all--more important to us than God. This includes ourselves. Pursuing our own goals, thinking of our own comfort or enjoyment, even putting other people before us or doing church ministry, all of these are secondary to our relationship to God and seeking to do his will.

This is a very hard thing to do, but if we get our priorities straight, the rewards that come from our relationship with God are enormous. It is always a struggle for me, yet when I am in a right relationship with God, I would not trade that for anything.