The best life is a God First life

Month: August 2021 (Page 2 of 2)

Skip the Highway – Stay on the straight and narrow path

My journey from a young adult to now has involved many turns, curves, pains, peaks, and valleys. Many of my early choices were enough to make bystanders dizzy. I would strongly recommend against anyone following the highways to nowhere that cross our straight and narrow path.

I was taught and started down that narrow path. However, as a youthful adult, I began testing the exit ramps on those wide-open highways that appeared so fun and fast. Many highways cross the narrow pathway toward heaven, and those on them seem to be having a great time.

In those early years, the narrow path felt slow, lonely, and dull; the highway travelers were going so fast they did not appear to have time for loneliness, which looked appealing in those moments.

Although I was not hitchhiking, highway travelers would occasionally stop with big smiles on their faces and exuberantly offer highway rides.

In the beginning, I accepted short rides and quickly missed the peace, comfort, contentment, and safety that the straight and narrow path offers; however, the highway rush enticed me, so occasionally, I would accept those highway thrills.

After a while, those highway rides became longer and faster; my adrenaline surged! Eventually, I was navigating those highways, rapidly going nowhere fast, almost wholly losing sight of that straight and narrow path I once cherished.

Quickly, I became one of those highway drivers, with big smiles in my speedy convertible, offering rides to those traveling that straight and narrow path. I spent years with the wind blowing through my hair on highways to nowhere, looking like I was going somewhere fast; occasionally, however, I would miss the peace and comfort I once knew. Sometimes, I felt trapped and would remember that ole pathway, but if I thought too profoundly, I would stop reflecting and floor the gas pedal.

Periodically, I’d offer rides to someone on the path I once traveled, and with words of wisdom, they would decline even the shortest ride, reminding me of my early years. Their words piqued my curiosity and helped me realize how confused and lost I had become. I found myself admiring their rejection of my offer.

After a while, the highway became less intriguing; I longed for the peace, comfort, tranquility, and surety I once had on that narrow pathway.

Finally, I realized getting off those entangled spaghetti highways was necessary. The loneliness was still there but coupled with emptiness. This would mean a dramatic change on my part, but I knew it was the right choice and began my highway departure.

I started my departure with a commitment to change direction, to exit those highways to nowhere and never look back, to return to that narrow path toward heaven again. I then studied and learned more about what that narrow path was all about. The more I learned, the more I questioned why I had ever allowed myself to accept that first highway ride.

I have great admiration for those few who have said no to those highway offers and stayed true to that narrow path for most, if not all, of their lives.

My choices taught me that my example and everyone’s examples have tremendous trickle-down effects that influence others.

If you care about family, friends, or people, you need to be mindful of your influence and do your best to serve God as a Christ-like example so that anyone following your lead will realize you are going somewhere, that you are on a path that leads to a heavenly home with our creator, a place with no tears, sickness, or sorrow. As for that highway, it eventually ends in eternal darkness with no hope—just utter darkness!

I am thankful for God’s grace and the path he set for us to follow. For it is by God’s grace, through our obedient faith in hearing, believing, repenting, confessing, and being baptized for the forgiveness of our sins, that we can walk the eternal pathway toward eternal life with Jesus.

  • Proverbs 3:5-7
  • Proverbs 4:26-27

Matthew 3:3

John 14:1–31

Revelation, 21:4

Matthew 7:13-14

Want to Save America?

I would love to see America saved from the direction it’s currently headed. Hope is not lost if we each take action to change direction.

Scripture tells us in James 4:8: “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you…” It stands to reason that the opposite is also true; the further we are from God, the further He is from us.

We must embrace and share the Goodness and Love of God found in Scripture. We must learn to be and teach others to be as Christlike as possible. It sounds too simple to be the answer but putting God First really is The Answer!

A Country without God is a Country lost; a country with God is a Country Blessed!

God First!

Hurting God, Hurts us

In many ways, I am the prodigal son, not in how I treated my earthly father, but in how I treated my Heavenly Father. For a long time, I abused the grace and blessings our Heavenly Father gave me. I understood his love for me, but I attempted to take advantage of it. I treated God as if, His Will for me was unimportant. I wanted what I wanted, even though I knew it went against the will of God. I wonder how many others currently find themselves doing the same.

I decided to ignore the understanding I did have of God’s will for his children. Instead, I willfully ignored God and foolishly hoped for the best if something happened. I mistakenly banked on the thought that I could plead ignorance, that God would forgive my purposeful attempt at ignorance because I was a good person. God, however, is not a respecter of persons. Therefore, I am responsible and accountable equally with everyone else to learn, study and follow Christ according to God’s Will. In fact, even more so, as I was a baptized believer.

During these years, I stupidly gambled with the eternity of my soul. It was never meant to be a conscientious rejection of God; however, in retrospect, it’s clear my faith at that time was built on sand. I allowed myself to slowly get caught up in my misconceptions of the good life to the point that God was barely a thought.

I had turned my back on God and did not realize or even consider the depth of how my choices would trickle down into the lives of all those I love. I did not realize the importance of missed opportunities. Opportunities to be an example to those around me as a person who puts God First!

I realize now; I hurt God, rejection hurts, God knows what was best for me, God knows what’s best for all of us, so much so; Jesus gave his life for me, for all of us! My selfish choices had consequences; I had slowly rejected God’s sacrifice, God’s love. I eventually realized I was pursuing nonsense (Vanity), my own desires, and was costing me greatly.

By the time I realized how broken and lost I was, my fun-filled actions were riddled with regrets. It was then that I returned to my only real hope, and just like the father of the prodigal son, our Heavenly Father, was there with wide-open arms, willing to forgive, willing to forget how lost I had become. According to Scripture, I was dead, and now I’m alive, I was lost, but now, I have been found, and heaven rejoiced! Luke 15:7–10

I wonder how many other prodigal sons or daughters are out there ignoring our Heavenly Father as I once did; Jesus’s arms are always outstretched to embrace the repentant heart and offer eternal life for those who will change direction and follow Christ according to God’s will and keep his commandments. The God of all comfort wants us to repent, come home.

If you are one who, upon reflection, realizes you have drifted away, won’t you change direction and come home?

When we truly live according to God’s will, there’s nothing to regret.

  • Luke 15:11-32 (prodigal son)
  • John 3:16 (God so loved…)
  • Luke 15:32 (Lost but found)
  • 2nd Corinthians 1:3-5 (God of all comfort)
  • James 4:8 (Draw close to God and He will draw close to you)

God First!

Improving on Gods ways

When we worship according to God’s word, we don’t offer strange fire. In other words, we don’t try to improve on the Lord’s commands no matter how well-intended and innocent we believe our hearts and minds to be. Doing God’s will is what pleases God! Scripture is riddled with examples of this point. Jesus says, “if you love me, you will keep My commandments.” Jesus does NOT SAY: if you love me, you will attempt to improve on my commandments.

If we are truly honest with ourselves, we should realize that attempting to glorify God in any way other than what God laid out before us by command and example in New Testament scripture is really an attempt to glorify ourselves. No matter how unwittingly.

Does anyone really believe their ideas are better than God’s? To me, attempting to conform scripture to today’s culture is foolish and backward thinking. It’s also dangerous thinking that puts souls at risk.

Instead, we should be doing all we can to show our love and respect for God, By making sure we are not ourselves doing as Nadab and Abihu did in doing their own thing rather than what God asked.

STRANGE FIRE(unauthorized)

‭‭“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.'” And Aaron held his peace.”

Leviticus‬ ‭10:1-3‬ ‭ESV

Let’s diligently work to spread God’s word according to God’s Word and help our families, culture, and society understand and want to conform to God’s ways remembering that heaven is the ultimate goal and available for all who will follow Jesus and keep His Commandments.

God First!

We either stand with Jesus or we stand against God.

Jesus is the Word and part of the Godhead. (see: John 1:1-18)

In 2 Timothy 3:16, we are told that all scripture is breathed out by God so when we elect to disbelieve or discount any part of scripture we are discounting and disbelieving God. To do so is to call God a liar.

I WILL NOT, call God a liar! Nothing about God’s Word has changed. Our societies, our culture and the acceptance of sin may have changed but only for those who do NOT use God’s Word, as a standard; Nothing of God‘s word has changed. So; if we call ourselves Christians but feel we are on the fence of any issue, consider this: When we Tolerate Everything, We Stand for Nothing. We must stand for the truth which God gave us. “God’s Holy Word” should be our standard not our feelings or pressure from society. We should remember Christ’s very own words in Revelation 3:16 and Matthew 12:30

I often pray as I study that I will share God’s word according to God’s Word and I pray we will all put God First in our lives.

God First!

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