If It's Not Working...

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6:33 NKJV

How many times have you heard or even said, "I've done everything I know to do. All I can do is pray..."? Think about that for a moment. In my mind, that relegates prayer to the status of a spare part, something we've thrown in the boot of the car to only be used as a last-ditch effort. 

We have to ask ourselves the Faith question. Is God first in our lives? Are His Kingdom priorities our priorities? Oh, we may think He is. The standard Christian response to that is, "God IS first in my life." One way to know for sure is when we face a difficult decision and we need guidance. Do we ask our friends first for their input on the situation before we pray about it (before we ask and wait on God for His input)? 

This is what I believe. If we don't do our part - seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness - then God is not bound to do His part - and all these things shall be added to you. It's the same principle that Jesus taught about the conditions of forgiveness in verses 14-15 of this same, very rich chapter, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

If it's not working, we need to check the Book. Did we miss doing our part? 

Prayer:

Father,

          Please forgive us for any time and every time we relegated the honor and privilege of communication with You, our Creator, behind anyone or anything else. How dare we? Change our hearts, Father. Remove the stubbornness and pride in our hearts and minds. Make us holy before You. Give us clean hands and pure hearts. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen 

The First Time

Come, let’s worship and bow down. Let’s kneel in front of the Lord, our maker, because he is our God and we are the people in his care, the flock that he leads. If only you would listen to him today!
Psalm 95:6-7 God's Word Translation (GWT)

It was later than usual when I finally got to bed. I planned to sleep a little later to make up for it, knowing some things I normally would do in the morning would not get done. But I couldn't see how I could succeed in my day with just a few hours of sleep. (I can be a real grump if I don't get enough sleep...) So, as I said good night to God, I mentioned, "If You want me up early in the morning, You're gonna have to wake me up and have me be wide awake, too, or I'm sleeping in."

In the morning, my eyes popped open like a kid on Christmas morning. It was still dark outside... I looked at the clock. 4:30.The conversation in my spirit went something like this. My first response was...

"Are you kidding me? Thirty minutes earlier than usual?"

"You said if I wanted you up to wake you, so I did."

"Yeah, but 4:30?"

"Are you going to get up?"

"Five minutes, Father. Five more minutes."

"Why won't you respond to Me the FIRST time I speak?"

Immediate conviction. I got up, asked forgiveness, and thanked Him for waking me... For the rest of the day, I was not able to get away from this Truth: We always demand to be heard and are the first to whine when we think He's not listening.

And yet, when was the last time we heard Him tell us something the FIRST time and responded immediately? I want to be a first responder to Him.

Prayer:

Father,
             Forgive us for our selfish ways. Rid us of our willful disobedience. Change our hearts, O God, to be first responders. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

What is First?

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
3rd John 2 NKJV

We all want to prosper and be healthy. We work at it. It's why we have a job. We spend the time it takes to learn how to do it right. We research and study and then train and apply what we've learned so that we might be successful in what we do.

Ask yourself this. Is your soul prospering? Is it expanding in faith and love? Is it at peace? Is your soul satisfied in your relationship with the Lord? If not, why not? Do we work at it? Do we spend the time it takes to learn how to do it right? Do we search His Word and study and train and apply what we've learned in our lives? What is our priority? What is first? Just FYI - God does not do second place.

Answer this. If we prosper in all things and are in health based on how our soul prospers, are we struggling or solvent? Bankrupt or booming? Failing or flourishing? 

Prayer:

Father, 

          Open our eyes to see the reality of our choices and where we place You as a priority. Forgive us for every time we don't make You our first priority. Help us to see every choice we make for selfishness and what we want instead of following Your Word and Your way. Give us clean hands and purify our hearts, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

First

Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers.
Mark 2:8-12a NLT

I am always amazed at the heart of Jesus - moved with such great compassion that Scripture tells us He healed all their sicknesses and disease. But in most of those instances of one-on-one healing miracles, forgiveness was His number one priority, THEN He healed them. Think about it. Which is the greater miracle?

When people are sick - Christian or not - they want to be made well. When someone is seriously sick, it is an opportunity to minister to the whole person - body, soul and spirit. Jesus knew it. He did it. And we are to follow His example. Ask them if they want you to pray for them. If they say yes, then ask if they want to pray now. Some will say no, but most will say yes.

First things first. Don't preach AT them. Pray WITH them. Plant the seed. Someone else will water. God will give the increase.

Father,
             Thank You that we can come to You and ask for healing. We know Jesus made provision for our healing when He was beaten before He was crucified. And we know that He was crucified to pay for our sins so that we could be forgiven. Father, we ask You to do both. Forgive us for our sins against You and heal all our diseases. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

A List of Firsts

At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

Genesis 3:7-9

In the world of marketing, if you can get it first; if it's yours exclusively; if it's hand-crafted and/or all-natural, it will fetch a high price. It almost doesn't matter what it is. It's all in the marketing. If I can make you believe it's better, it's healthier, it'll make you smarter, stronger, and you'll live longer, you'll buy it.

For instance, camouflage is big business. Ask Academy or Bass Pro Shops. Do a Google search for 'camouflage clothing' and in less than half-a-second, you get a return of over 1.2 MILLION hits... Funny thing about that is that the camouflage may make us harder to see when we're out hunting, but critters have a keen sense of smell. Let them get a whiff of that human flesh and eyeball you or not, they know you're there.

There are a lot of firsts in the Book of Genesis; after all, it's the book of beginnings. Among them - the first ever, completely organic, hand-stitched, his-and-her camouflage outfits. Want one? Back then, it came at the highest price. Perhaps more so than any other. They paid dearly for it - as has every generation since then - always paying the same high cost. The price never goes down, even though the market is glutted with the sin of disobedience and loss of innocence. And no matter how much we try to cover up and camouflage our sin to try to blend in, sin has its own distinct odor.

There's another first in that same chapter and verse of our text for today. The first recorded game of Hide-N-Seek, and God was IT first. Oh, don't kid yourself. He knew where they were. He knew they'd broken the rules. He knew they cheated and He came looking for them anyway... because He loved us first. And although their first ever, completely organic, hand-stitched, his-and-her camouflage outfits were more than either of them could afford, He paid the price with a first of His own. A great price. He paid dearly...

Prayer:

Father,

         Let us always remember that You came looking for us Not to kill us. Not to condemn us, but to love us. Help us to never try to camouflage who or what we are. We want to walk with clean hands and pure hearts before You, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Looking Out for Number One

Do not seek your own good, but the good of the other person.
1st Corinthians 10:24 NET Bible

Looking out for number one. Numero Uno. What about what I want? What about what I need? It's all about me. It doesn't have to be a sports event - everybody wants to be #1. We live in a day and age when people think that they are entitled to be whatever they want to be, no matter the cost to others.

But that's not what God thinks. With God, it's preferring one another in love. It's loving your neighbor as you would yourself, fulfilling the law through love.

We ARE to be looking out for Number One. But we're not it. They are...

Prayer:

Father,
            Give us Your eyes to see. Your heart to love. Your mercy and grace to embrace others as You have done with us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

How Often

Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah 1:17-20 NIV

I woke up early with a snippet from the song Flawless by MercyMe running through my mind; "Still the truth is, the cross has made - the cross has made you flawless" and then our text for today came to mind, "Though your sins be as scarlet..." 

I find it interesting that of this particular Scripture passage, the only part I had memorized (in the King James Version) was verse 18, Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. How often do we do take just the "Feel Good" portion of Scripture? 

In reading the chapter fully, it's whole message is about a nation whose rebellion is so rampant that God hates everything they do - how they still ritually perform the feasts and festivals, even pray! He won't have any part of it and yet, His love is so great, He offers them a way back to Himself. Always a way back to Himself...

How often do we think it's something WE do that gets us back in right standing with the Father? How often do we get find ourselves entangled in the cares of this world because we've somehow confused those cares for our commitments to Christ? How often do we settle for pepper praying - a little here, a little there - because we're busy "doing life"?  How often do we expect God to settle for less because "He knows how I am"? 

The Truth is God made the only Way to get us back to Himself and His way is flawless. The Truth is it's Who was on the Cross that made us flawless - Jesus the Christ - who gave His life to pay the debt for our sins. The Truth is the only thing WE can do is Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness... (Matthew 6:33). Not as the last resort. First. 

Prayer:

Father,
           Forgive us for less than measures. Forgive us for settling and expecting You to do the same. Forgive us for every time we used You as the last resort. Keep us ever mindful of You first. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* Places, Please

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6:33 NKJV

It's human nature - we want to be first. Be the first to own this or that, first across the finish line, first to solve the puzzle. First in line to eat. I'm almost convinced that we don't care what, as long as we're in First Place. And yet, that's totally opposite of how we are instructed to live our lives. 

We are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness... We are to prefer others before ourselves (Romans 12:10).  We are to follow. To follow, by definition, is to NOT be first.

In John 12:26 (NKJV), [Jesus speaking] If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. 

Let's take our places, please. Who, me first? No, thank You... I'll follow You.

Prayer:

Father, 

          We want to follow You and serve You. We like the place You have carved out for us. Help us to see Your footsteps in front of us so that we don't miss a step and wind up in the wrong place. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* The Proper Order

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:31-34 NKJV

Why is it we go to work every day - for a paycheck? To pay bills? To provide? Eat? To be able to drive a decent car? Take a vacation? So we can buy things we want? Nothing wrong with that - unless it's our only motivation.

If it is, in fact, our only motivation, then our lives are all about us. We're taking care of "Number One" - the world's view of what's most important. If we put ourselves first, the world may applaud, but the sad truth is, we are out of order.

God is not ignorant of our daily needs or our long-term needs. He is totally aware of all we require. That's why He sent Christ into the world. Our Promise for Today reads, But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

First. Seek first. Seek God first. How can we follow Him if He's not first? When we make Him first, that makes us second and that puts us in the proper order.

Prayer:

Father,
            We always want to be in the proper order of things with You. More of You, less of me. You first. Always You first. Lead us, O God, and we will follow. You first. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen