The best life is a God First life

Category: Prayer (Page 3 of 3)

Include God; He offers so much!

We know from Scripture we are made in the image of God; we also know from God’s Word that God has feelings. For example, that God hates sin, God loves, God is righteously jealous, etc. so; I have a few questions for us to ponder:

How do we feel when the only time someone thinks of us is when they need or want something?

How do you think God feels when we treat him that way?

Why treat him this way?

It’s obvious from Scripture; God wants to be included in our lives; He wants us to love Him as He loves us. This said, Why would we not want to include God in all that we do?. After all, Jesus told us to: ask, seek, and knock.

Our very breath is dependent on our creator! By embracing God’s love and keeping his commandments, we secure God’s promise of eternal life. Thus, we can obtain the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding that will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. If we are truly In Christ, our hearts are filled with joy and the comfort of God. Therefore, it seems kind of stupid to me to exclude God when he offers so much life both in this world and for eternity.

  • Ephesians 6:18 – pray often
  • 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 – God of all comfort
  • James 5 – prayers of the righteous
  • Matthew 7:7-11 – Ask, Seek, Knock
  • Philippians 4:7 – Peace beyond understanding
  • John 15:1-16 – Joy

In Christ, we have access to the power of God

God: Unseen by the human eye, yet His power and love is evident in all of creation. Through Jesus, we are encouraged to tap into God’s power. Scripture tells us If we draw closer to God, He draws closer to us that we should work toward righteousness and demonstrate our love by keeping the commandments of Jesus. Although we live in the world, we should not be of the world, that so far as it depends on us, we are to live peaceably with all.

If God is with us, who can be against us!

  • IN Christ, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who intercedes with our prayers.
  • IN Christ and through Christ, we can petition God in faithful fervent prayer.
  • IN Christ, we have God’s ear; we can turn those burdens ”out of our control” over to Him and trust in Him.
  • IN Christ, the God of all comfort, helps us in times of suffering.
  • IN Christ, we can have peace that surpasses understanding.

Scripture tells us how to be ”IN Christ,”

  • The Holy Spirit helps with our prayers. (In Romans 8:26)
  • The prayer of the righteous is well heard! (In James 5:16)
  • The closer we draw to God, the closer he draws to us (in James 4:8)
  • If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (In John 14:15)
  • God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)
  • Christ disciples are Not of the world (in John 17:14-23)
  • “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
  • “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man” (Acts 17:24)
  • To be In Christ (Galatians 3:25-29)
  • They were cut to the heart, and they asked, What do we do? (Acts 2:38-41)
  • Live peaceably (Romans 12:18)

God First!

Praying

According to Thessalonians 5:17, we are to “Pray Continually” If we think about it, praying continually would mean we always include God in our decisions. Praying “prior” to making decisions (big or small), seeking “God’s will” be done rather than just doing “our will” and then praying God’s ok with it.”

When we make decisions, Do we pray for wisdom, help, and discernment before we make them? or only after we made them when we realize we need help with the results of our decision.

Is God’s will, Our will? Or, do we treat our will as if it should be, God’s will, and pray that he will help us with the repercussions of our decision?

For example, we buy a new car without praying that God helps us find the best car for our needs, then, after the fact, we find ourselves going to God praying for help on payments or repair. Of course, this is hypothetical, but maybe including God beforehand would put us into a vehicle we could afford without repairs we can’t afford.

God wants to hear from us, Pray often and pray for those things that would align with the heart of God.

( James 4:15)

God First!

Just say no to Grumpy.

Why not choose to start each day with a houseful of smiles and laughter? It’s far better than a houseful of grumpy!

Why be grumpy? Do you yourself like being around grumpy people? If not, choose to replace grumpy with kindness, warm smiles, and thoughtfulness. Our attitude is a choice from morning light to the dead of night!

Why not strive to start each day with prayer, then bless your family and others with eyes of compassion, words of encouragement, and thoughtfulness the whole day through.

Be cheerful and kind no matter the time; after all, laughter is good for your soul; it’s good for theirs. Instead of grumpy, why not share the best you have to offer and brighten each other’s day with an attitude of joy, love, and gratitude for life, family, and friends.

Attitudes are contagious, is yours worth catching?

God wants to hear from you!

When things seem out of my control, who better to go to than God? Who better to ask for help than our creator?

Although I may say several short prayers during the day a good while back, I decided to set time out for prayer every night.

Every day, I now look forward to this time when I diligently share my gratitude, joys, and concerns for Self, family, and friends. I am convinced God answers prayers as he has surely answered mine.

Pray often – God wants to hear from you!

God First!

  • 1 John 5:14
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
  • Mark 11:24
  • Romans 12:12
  • Psalm 145:18

Mom’s advise

My mom’s been in Paradise for years now but her memories are instilled in me. One such memory was some advice. I’ve not always held true to it but, I have grown to recognize the enormous value of it.

”Don’t go to bed mad.” Why?

I believe it’s because when we harbor anger, it festers and can easily turn into sin, and sin separates us from God. Sometimes we just can’t fix a problem before bed, but we all have access to God’s Word and to God through prayer.

We can seek help in scripture and pray about the problem; insomuch as it is within our power, we can take action on our part. We can pray for wisdom, understanding and be willing to forgive those involved. If the problem is out of our control, we can turn it over to God, the one who can do anything, and then we can let go and trust in God.

Although anger (in itself) is not wrong, God knows what’s best for us and tells us in the following scripture.

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians‬ ‭4:26-32‬

‭‭God First!

  • Isaiah 59:2,
  • Hebrews 10:26-31
  • James 1:14-15
  • James 5:16
  • Matthew 5:24

Love is why many church building doors (not the Church) were temporarily closed this time last year.

Love is why many church building doors (not the Church) were temporarily closed this time last year.
————LOVE ———
 
No Christian wanted the doors closed, and we knew It was only temporary.
We asked ourselves, which one of us would volunteer to bury our parent, spouse, siblings, child, best friend, etc., as a result of NOT taking precautions? We took comfort in knowing that closing the building’s doors does not stop those “In Christ” from being ”The Church.”
It did not stop us from reaching out to say hello, letting others know we care or seeking how we can help others. It did not stop us from praying or sharing God’s Word through medians such as this or live streaming, among others. It did NOT stop us from remembering Christ’s death and resurrection on the first day of the week and partaking of the bread and fruit of the vine In remembrance of Christ’s body and blood as it was shed for us, doing so every week.
We still sang praises to God, shared the message of Christ, and continued to support our Congregation’s efforts to share God’s Word to the world financially.
While we were apart physically, we sorely missed the smiles, handshakes, hugs, and maybe most of all, engaging personally with the encouragement and active examples of our brothers and sisters in Christ who we faithfully see at every bible study and Worship service possible.
With all the challenges we faced while the church building doors were closed, many of our Christian siblings sought and found ways to continue edifying, lifting each other’s spirits, and sharing Christ during these difficult times.
 
Christians who vigorously showed all that “The Church” is alive and active 24/7 demonstrating the Love of Christ.
 
The Government established Covid-19 guidelines, and in adherence, the building doors re-opened as soon as possible. In Consideration of these guidelines and health concerns for themselves or others, People began to return to in-person Worship and study as they could.
 
With the introduction of the vaccine and Improved treatments, we get closer each day to life pre-covid and look forward to that day when everyone is together again. When we Worshiped from our homes, we did so out of Love. Love for God and love for others. We adhered to the Word of God concerning our responsibility towards governing authorities.
 
Maybe the real test in all this is whether we would each be ”The Church, ” no matter what, building or no building, and keep our priorities on God, First!
 
I love the Lord’s Church, Don’t you?
 
To help clarify. I posted the above article on a social media site and had some take exception to it so, In my opinion, Love for others is one of the main reasons many Church’s closed the building doors a year ago.
At this time, much of covid-19, how it was transmitted, how to treat it, how deadly was it, was very new and unknown. There was and still is a ton of misinformation regarding it.
 
I remember having and listening to discussions of concern for others, for their safety, especially those more susceptible.
 
Based on some of the comments I recived on the social media site, maybe some never did, but I classify these discussions and concerns for others as love. Love for others!
 
I believe since it is the second greatest command that it strongly played into the decisions of our elders’ at my congregation. 
 
I am not an elder or deacon, but I am confident the elders weighed the circumstances and all scripture very carefully and made the right decision.
 
I believe It was made out of love for God, God’s Word, and love for others.

Focus on the good

With so much evil in this world to distract our hearts and minds, let us NOT lose focus of all the good that surrounds us (often in humble quietness).

 Let us work to keep our hearts and minds open and focus on the good; let us think and practice the words we find in Philippians.

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” ~ Philippians 4:8

Let us be a light to others and recognize the shining lights in our lives; let us give thanks and say Thank-you today to those whose quest to live righteously inspires us to do the same.

  • Matthew 5:16 (let your light shine)
  • Galatians 6:9 (Never give up on doing good)

God First!

Newer posts »

© 2025 Advocate for Christ

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑