The best life is a God First life
This is not always our first reaction; however, if this were not possible by Christians, God would not have told us to do it.
God knows what’s best for us, and it behooves us to trust Him and keep His commandments.
“To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:20-21 ESV
In God we trust
God First!
We were gifted with the morning light as it cast these rainbow colors across our tile floor. As I pointed it out to my wife, I thought, how cool! Its presence then sent my mind down a pathway of thoughts to carry.
Like the rainbow in the sky, this simple patch of colors reminded me of God’s promises. That God cannot lie and will always be with those who love Him. How Jesus said: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
While sipping my morning coffee, my mind kept highlighting snippets of God’s Word, “God is the God of All Comfort”, “the closer we draw to God, the closer God will draw towards us”, “Ask, and it will be given, Seek and you will find, Knock and the door will open”, “Pray without Ceasing!”
It is comforting to remember how much Jesus cares for us and to be reminded to be humble and to cast all our anxieties on Him.
This little patch of light reminded me that Faith includes Trust. “Never give up on doing good.” Lean on Jesus, especially in times of trial when the challenges of life are heavy, and things don’t make any sense.
So much was brought to mind in this little patch of rainbow light.
Jesus has prepared for those who love Him a place with many rooms where tears, death, mourning, crying, and pain will be no more. It gives me peace to remember this world is but a temporary home; our forever home is, as a song states, “Beyond the azure blue.” Scripture tells us, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.” All this world and its desires are passing away, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
God First!
Have you ever had someone take credit for your accomplishments? If so, how did you feel about it?
God is treated this way repeatedly as “Scientists” seek, and people believe everything was created by accident rather than by God.
God’s proof is all around us, in Science, Math, and History, which support what we find in Scripture, and that God is the most logical explanation as the Creator of everything we know.
Many actively work to give credit elsewhere. Sadly, the gullible then fall prey to praising the “creations of God” rather than God Himself.
History shows that people inherently desire to worship something; they want to put faith in something they deem greater than themselves. Worship and praise have been given to such things as the moon, the sun, stars, mountains, water, fire, and animals. Innumerable statues have been made, erected, and worshiped, and theories invented, taught, and believed.
Today, many give the credit that belongs to God to those touting disbelief under the disguise of science. Technical-sounding words are coined and used to construct hypothetical theories, then presented as sound science and taught to our children.
Think about it: Theories are being taught to the most gullible, our children, and told it is science.
Our children are taught to believe our creation was a fluke accident where nothing exploded into something, rather than God created everything, that a spec of absolutely nothing, too small for our eyes to see, exploded into something that created planets in a perfect universal placement to provide life on Earth. Then, over billions of years, this accidental mass developed into the perfectly designed world of nature and life we live in today, where animal and human life are natural phenomena, and our human ancestry is monkeys.
– Were you taught this?
– Do you currently lend credence to any of these theories?
– If not from God, where did our intelligence come from?
God gave us free will and said, “Look at the evidence around you.” God would not have given us so much proof if He expected blind faith; nope, God gave us brains, the ability to question, weigh, comprehend, and conclude that the only logical answer is that Design Requires a Designer.
Every woven and intricate detail of this world requires design; thus, the most logical conclusion, supported by science and math, is not an accident but rather that Everything created is God’s accomplishment, and the proof is all around us; any other explanation is fabrication.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
God First!
God gave mankind a unique opportunity. He created us in His image and gave us the ability to give back to Him, the one thing God really wants from His Creation.
“Our Love, by our choice.”
Think about it: Other than your love, what can you offer God?
God is the Creator of everything we know and understand. Everything!
With great and painful sacrifice beyond our understanding, we have been given the opportunity for eternal life with the Godhead: with the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, in a new heavenly home Jesus created for us.
God consistently provides for us, and all He really asks is that we truly love Him as He has first loved us.
Why would we not want to show our gratitude with our every breath?
In His Holy Word, Jesus told us how to show our love by keeping His commandments. Scripture shows us how. There is nothing tricky or confusing about it. Jesus created only one Church, His Church, the One He established, the One He died for, and He told us how to be a part of His Church by becoming in Christ.
Giving of ourselves, showing our love with effort
Jesus said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
Jesus also gave us a New Commandment in John 13:34-35. We are to “love others as Christ loved us.”
Scripture demonstrates that what we believe, teach, and set as our example matters to God. Let us never take God’s love for granted, but rather give God the one gift God values most from His creation.
“Our Love” by Our Choice.
In (John 14:15), Jesus explains, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)
1 Corinthians 14:33-40 (not confusion)
Matthew 7:21 (Not everyone)
Matthew 16:18, Ephesians 1:4 (One Church)
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (Love)
John 14:2-3 (many mansions)
1 John 4:19 (He first loved us)
God First!
Before my wife’s illness interfered, the following was my typical schedule for planned edification each month in Bible classes and worship with the Church.
The time adds up to around 22 hrs. per month, yet this is only about 6% of my awake hours in a year. Does this number surprise you? It surprised me. I thought it would be much more than 6%.
Is God getting our best effort or a minimum effort? In the story of the rich young ruler, the ruler asked Jesus, “What must I do to receive eternal life?”
When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.” Luke 18:22-23 Apparently, he was unwilling to give up all he had to follow Jesus.
Jesus doesn’t ask us to give our life savings, but; Would we be willing to if He did?
(Especially if we think giving Him a few hours each week is inconvenient.)
It’s a matter of our hearts!
You and I, every person on earth, are so important to God that He gave us His only son as our pathway to eternal life. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Jesus, “who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,” Galatians 1:4
How much are we willing to give to Him?
Rhetorically:
God First!
We will each stand in judgment before God.
Let us stand ready to say, “We tried,” rather than, “We did not think we could make a difference.”
Let’s NOT be like the servant who was rebuked and lost everything for not trying in the parable of the talents. (Mat. 25:14-30)
Let’s have God judge us for our efforts rather than our lack thereof.
Let us sow God’s Word
Let us study and learn God’s word
Let us try
Let us pray
Let us believe and demonstrate our faith
Let us plant and water the seeds of truth, knowing and trusting that God will supply the increase. even if we never see it with our own eyes.
Let us do our best to follow God according to God’s Word.
“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
God First!
I have friends who set family goals to read 1,000 books in a year. Personally, I’m a slow reader, so this goal is truly impressive to me. In fact, when I ordered the book in this picture, “The Utterance of God,”
I ordered it based on my interest in the topic and a friend’s recommendation. This book identifies and demonstrates numerous biblical proofs (many of which I was unaware of); which prove that what we read in the Bible is indeed the actual Words of God.
The Bible claims this fact in 2 Timothy 3:16, where God tells us, “All Scripture is God-breathed…”.
Recognizing, understanding, and comprehending these many proofs found in Scripture proves God as the creator of everything we know and understand; therefore, we should do all within our power to follow Christ according to what we find in God’s Word.
This book of proofs has a nice-sized font, but when I bought it, I did not realize it was over 500 pages. Likewise, the Bible has over 1,000 pages and 750,000 words. Although large books seem daunting to me, I have learned to take the Flaxseed approach to my reading.
Flaxseed was recommended to me for its several health benefits. When I ordered the Flaxseed, and it arrived, I thought, wow, that’s a lot of Flaxseed; how will I ever get through all this? Yet by using just a teaspoon at a time, I have now consumed several containers and am healthier for it.
I am proud to report that I have read every word in this book, “The Utterance of God.” Parts of it were challenging for me to comprehend, but the largest percentage was very easy and extremely informative and interesting. Moreover, I gained considerably by persistently consuming just a few pages at a time over months.
The result: Studying this information strengthened my understanding of God’s Word, highlighted several passages I was unaware of, increased my confidence, and encouraged and emboldened my faith.
Reading good books can provide several benefits for the health of our minds, and reading God’s Holy Word nourishes both mind & soul; it is life’s best guide!
Following God’s Word according to God’s Word is to follow Jesus, and Jesus is our only way to spend eternity with God. (John 14:6, Acts 4:2, 1 Timothy 2:5, John 10:9, John 1:14)
I encourage anyone reading this writing to set aside time to read the Bible.
Don’t predetermine it’s too hard to understand; instead, be persistent with yourself and commit yourself to at least a spoonful of reading per day. Before you know it, just like with the Flaxseed or this book I now recommend, you will have consumed the whole book. It’s a blessing!
God First!
Don’t lose sight of all the good that surrounds you (often in humble quietness).
There is so much evil in this world that distracts our hearts and minds; it’s tempting and easy to lose focus.
Instead, though it may be challenging at times, let’s work to keep our hearts and minds focused on the good; think and practice the words found in Philippians …
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8 ESV
Let us be a light of hope and love to others and recognize the shining lights in our lives.
If we look around us, we can find people whose quest is to live righteously, whose lives encourage and inspire others to do the same. I am grateful for many in my life and hope and pray there are as many in yours.
Many books on business success stress the importance of surrounding yourself with successful people to become successful, and I’m certain there is truth to this.
True success, however, is found in living a life that by example leads us and others to Christ, toward eternal salvation and everlasting life with Jesus. Let us be wise and surround ourselves with those who encourage and inspire us to live for Christ and follow His teachings. Nothing we acquire in this world goes with us to the next.
- “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed” Proverbs 13:20
- “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.” 1 Corinthians 15:33
- “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 ESV
God First!
When we send our kids to school, we intend for them to learn to study and understand the basic curriculum. In college, they pursue degrees, and throughout it all, we will hear them complain, “It’s boring to study, it’s boring to listen, it’s boring to sit through lectures,” yet with effort, they become fluent in new terminology and the details of their chosen professions. In the end, they have accumulated all those boring hours, and it’s worth it!
Reading and studying God’s word can seem boring and daunting. I understand the mindset; It once seemed that way to me.
I looked for answers in what others understood or simply in my reasoning. I had good reason to trust what I was being told. However, it was not until I began studying on my own and attending Bible classes, worship services, and study groups that an accurate understanding of God’s Word began to sink in.
As a result, my once skin-deep faith grew into an all-consuming zeal to share the message of Christ.
Why?
Because our souls’ eternity is decided by our choices.
It’s more important than anything worldly. I need to be able to explain and defend why this is true. (within the pages of scripture), In other words, by sharing God’s Word “as written,” not my words or my ideas.
Regarding God’s word, my boredom with study has become an engaging excitement, with the purpose of sharing. A continuous thirst to grow closer to God with an ever-growing understanding of God’s intent for me and all disciples of Jesus, His commands, His Forgiveness, Mercy, and how we accept His Grace by keeping Jesus’s commands.
I encourage everyone to make a similar effort to grow, as All Truth is in God’s Word.
My quest is to explain, with certainty and boldness, the joy and hope that are in me, with gentleness and respect. Just as we are directed in 1 Peter 3:15-16 and Ephesians 6:20
OUR SOULS ARE WORTHY OF EVERY EFFORT!
God First!
Virginia and I walked along a nearby circular, wooded path, doing our thing, saying hello to everyone who passed. We greeted one man, probably in his early 30s, exchanged pleasantries, and continued walking, seeing him again about halfway around the circle. Only this time, we all stopped and chatted for a moment.
His name was Mitch, and during our conversation, I asked if he believed in God. He responded, “Yes,” then said he was about to ask me a similar question because he felt the love of Jesus in us earlier. While speaking, I reached into my backpack, told him I wanted to give him something, and began retrieving a God First cup with its messages. While doing so, explaining, “I don’t want to give this gift to someone who won’t appreciate it, which is why I asked if you believed in God.” As Mitch took the cup of inspiration, he was extremely appreciative.
We spoke briefly about some of the responses I have received sharing these cups with others, and how I have been saddened by the percentage of people who state they don’t believe, maybe as high as 25%. I mentioned one seemingly bitter lady who recently responded: “No, I don’t, and I DON’T WANT TO BE PREACHED TO EITHER!” (She later wanted to know why I asked)
During our very brief conversation, we covered a few topics. Mitch mentioned love and the Holy Spirit a few times, emphasizing his understanding of the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives.
I mentioned how we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit by baptism (citing Acts 2:38) and emphasized the importance of studying and learning God’s Word, according to His Word, that we might truly understand and not be swayed from the truth.
How Scripture states, “… each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” Pointing out that I will not be held accountable for his actions, nor will he be for mine; however, we can certainly help each other out along the way.
We mutually agreed that it was important to share God’s word with love, as scripture commands, rather than in a spirit of condemnation.
We discussed that the word ‘Belief’ is often used too loosely. How scripture points out. Even the demons believe—and shudder! So, just saying, “I think there’s someone up there” isn’t enough.
As an example, I mentioned some state: that baptism is not essential to salvation, yet scripture plainly states, “Baptism now saves us.” Though the conversation was short, I also invited Mitch to visit our local congregation, The Buford Church of Christ, where the emphasis is on study and worship that’s modeled on the practices of early Church worship, rather than on entertainment so prevalent in many churches today., so, along with the God First cup, I also gave him a card with the location, Worship and Bible study times, etc.,
(I wrote this synopsis from memory and a few notes made as we walked away from Mitch. Although I did not quote word for word all the verses below in our conversation, I did refer to most of them and explained if we had time, I could find and show him all the scriptures I was referring to.)
Maybe we will meet Mitch again one day and have further discussion, or, better yet, he will visit our Buford Church of Christ congregation, feel the love of Christ so prevalent in the members, and embark on learning more.
Scripture references made:
• Romans 14:12 (each will give account)
• Acts 2:38 (receive the gift of the Holy Spirit)
• Mark 16:16 (believe and be baptized)
• 1 Peter 3:21 (Baptism now saves us)
• 2 Timothy 2:15 (study to Shew thyself approved)
• Matthew 7:21-23 (Not everyone)
• James 2:19 (Even demons believe)
• 1 Peter 3:15 (Share with love)
• Ephesians 6:16-20 (share boldly)
“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” Romans 8:6
God First!
*AI generated photo
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