First Things First

Chuckle: We all admire different qualities in people. My grandfather used to say, "If we all liked the same thing, everybody would be after your grandmother!"

Good Quote: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did." --Mark Twain

"He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all -- how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32 NIV)

Have you thought lately about what is most important in your life? Do your priorities center around pleasing God or impressing others? Are you more concerned with self-indulgence than self-sacrifice? If these questions stirred a sense of conviction in your heart, perhaps it's time to reassess your priorities and get first things first in your life. Did these questions create a desire within you to let God change you from the inside out?

If you truly wish to change things in your life, a transformation of the heart is required. Only God is able to permanently make a change take root in your life. When we rely on our own power to make changes in our lives, these adjustments generally stem from wrong motives and are temporary in nature. They may resemble new years' resolutions made in our own strength. We have good intentions when we make them, but the flesh is just too weak -- the will just isn't there. We go for the quick and easy way, which usually is self-focused and not God's way. However, His Holy Spirit within empowers us to make adjustments and transformations with eternal value. Ask Him to "create in you a clean heart and renew a right spirit within you" (Psalm 51:10 NIV).

If your heart is consistent with God's will, you never have to doubt His willingness to move in your life. Make a choice to build on a firm, permanent foundation. Rely fully on God alone for He loves you and will help you on your journey! Read in His Word all that He has planned for you - it's all good! He will help you keep first things first. "I can do all every thing through Him (Christ) who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13 NIV). Isaac Newton's First Law of Motion states, "Everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it." When you stop letting God change you, you stop growing and maturing spiritually. A change in behavior begins with a change in the heart.

Jesus asked the man by the pool of Bethesda, "Do you want to be made well?" Some people don't want change in their lives. They feel comfortable right where they are. Jesus was asking this man, Are you content with the way you are right now? Do you really want your life to change?"

 

Love, Jerry & Dotse