first

God First part 3

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re-post
We are told to seek out the kingdom of heaven and to seek out righteousness. In multiple commentaries it places emphasis that we are to seek out God first. That we should strive to be righteous in all that we do. Will we stumble and fall? Yes, but as long as we pick ourselves up and return to seeking to place God over all we do then we are heading down the right path.
It is a path that will be rough, you will find that not all wish to follow it for they will say that it is too hard and many times you will find that you are shunned, hated and even rejected by those that you once thought were your friends and allies.
They may even ostracize you and call you unworthy, a fanatic and even crazy. These are all things we are warned will happen to us once we go down the narrow road, for most would rather take the wide and easy path, not realizing they are, but they do anyway. It will be painful at times and even lonely, but if you know you are grounded correctly and properly within the teachings of the Bible you have nothing to fear.
One of the hugest misconceptions plaguing the world and even the church is the belief that all there is, is this world we now live within in. This is the furthest thing from the truth. For Christ has promised us an eternal life, yet many still mourn the passing of a loved one more than they should. In all actuality it should be a time for rejoicing for they have been called home unto God if they have tried to live a good and righteous life and avoided sin as best they could through the glory of Christ.
Now I can understand there being sorrow and weeping if they did not, for they may not make it passed the Great White Throne Judgment.
This is why it is so important to strive to place God first in all we do. So when we are called up into heaven we know it will be because we have finished our commission for Christ and we have been a good and righteous servant unto God, His Son and the world and we will have left it at least slightly better than when we first entered into it.
It is then that we will know without a doubt that the life we just left was nothing more than a proving ground. A short test to see if we would stay loyal to the Creator of all and everything by turning from sin.

God First

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re-post
This is stated in the Bible, not actually directly, but when you think upon it does say that. In Matthew (22:37), Mark (12:30) and Luke (10:27), Jesus states that He is adding to the commandment. For He states two things that He calls the greatest commandments. It is also important to state that Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 that He came to fully the law and the prophets not to replace them. This means that the rules that were established in the Old Testament still have power, just in some areas modified since Jesus Himself by dying upon the cross took the need for sacrifices away.
So what I am going to do in this article is define “first” and then I am going to break down the three verses in which Jesus states to place God first. I will then discuss the implication for follow this commandment.
First – Merriam-Webster – preceding all others in time, order, or importance.
Dictionary.com – being before all others with respect to time, order, rank, importance; before some other thing; in preference to something else; rather; sooner.
To be first is to precede and have more importance than anything else.
Matthew 22:37 – Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Love – agapao – to love – I love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem
Here is a quote from the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament:
“The possibility of love for God stands under a radical Either/Or:…… (Matthew 6:24). To love God is to exist for Him as a slave for his lord (cf. Luke 17:7). It is to listen faithfully and obediently to His orders, to place oneself under His lordship, to value above all else the realization of this lordship (cf. Matthew 6:33). It also means, however, to base one’s whole being on God, to cling to Him with unreserved confidence, to leave with Him all care and final responsibility, to live by His hand. It is to hate and despise all that does not serve God nor come from Him, to break with all other ties, to cut away all that hinders (Matthew 5:29), to snap all bonds except that which binds to God alone.” (p.45 vol. 1)
All – holos – “whole” or “all;” all, the whole, entire, complete. NTD – “whole,” “complete,” “undivided,”…. In the NT mostly with a noun, and to express its totality.
Heart – kardia – (Latin cor, “heart”); the heart; lit: the heart; mind, character, inner self, will, intention, center. NTD – The use of this word in the Greek agrees with the OT use and concentrates on the heart as the main organ of psychic and spiritual life, the place in man at which God bears witness to Himself…..
2. That the heart is the center of the inner life of man and the source or seat of all the forces and functions of soul and spirit is attested in many different ways in the NT.
Soul – psuche – life, mind, soul; the soul, life, self. (a) the vital breath, breath of life, (b) the human soul, (c) the soul as the seat of affections and will, (d) the self, (e) a human person, an individual. NTD – the “soul” is the part of the human trinity that was created by God to live beyond the body we now live within. In the Theological Dictionary fifty-two pages is spent discussing the various elements within the meaning in the word “psuche” and breaks it down to each usage within the NT, but this is the key element it boils down to.
Mind – dianoia – imagination, mind, understanding; intellect, insight. In the NTD the use of this word is used to signify the actual using of the mind to formulate a thought or decision.
These words are all used by all three gospels and so have the same meaning.
So Jesus is stating that we are to use our complete and undivided attention with our heart, our inner self; our soul that which is destine to stand in the presence of God; and our thoughts, our mind. To give anything, our complete and undivided attention means it is to be first and thus presiding anything else in our lives even in the exclusion of those things that would become more important than God.
This is what many do not wish to do. They wish to place themselves and their desires before God. They say we must change the teaching of Jesus to fit their definition of what they wish the Bible to say. They say if we do not do this we are the ones in the wrong and the problem.
Here is the problem with that mentality. These are the words of Jesus Christ Himself, and per them we are to place God above all and we are to do it completely. Those that follow this and insist it be followed for it is what Jesus Himself taught are the ones being honest to the Bible and following just as Jesus desired all willing to do so to do. So those trying to change the Bible to allow them to live in sin are the real problem and so we need to stay steadfast to the Bible and continue to follow its literal meanings. For to do otherwise would not place God first, but lower than first which is not where Jesus stated He is ever to be.
Placing God first prepares us for the eternal life that is to come. For God will be the center for all that choose to follow Him and His Son. They command we follow without question, even to the far side of the universe in His service. If you do not place God first you live in sin, for it is counter to the words of Jesus our Savior.

NTD = Theological Dictionary of the New Testament

Are you breaking the first?

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Now what do I mean by this question?
It’s very simple. Are we breaking the first commandment and not even realizing it.
Exodus 20: 2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
What is the definition of word “god?”
God – from Merriam-Webster it is defined as: 1 capitalized : the supreme or ultimate reality: as a : the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe b Christian Science : the incorporeal divine Principle ruling over all as eternal Spirit : infinite Mind
2: a being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and powers and to require human worship; specifically : one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality
3: a person or thing of supreme value
4: a powerful ruler
It also states this: a spirit or being that has great power, strength, knowledge, etc., and that can affect nature and the lives of people : one of various spirits or beings worshipped in some religions
: a person and especially a man who is greatly loved or admired
Wow – “a person and especially a man who is greatly loved or admired.”
That definition is a stick of dynamite into true faith.
People have in recent elections been creating temporal “gods” and allowing them to do as they please; without question or conflict. So there the first commandment is definitely being broken by millions. As is reinforced by the fourth definition: “a powerful ruler.”
The definition of love and admiration can also be applied to celebrates and as you watch and listen to how many of them act. That is how they see themselves as well, and if you do not agree with them they look down upon as if you are nothing.
In Oxford Dictionaries I find this definition: “An adored, admired, or influential person: ‘he has little time for the fashion victims for whom he is a god’”
“A thing accorded the supreme importance appropriate to a god: ‘don’t make money your god’”
Whenever you get reverence to anything or anyone other than the Creator of the universe you are in essence breaking the first commandant. That can include yourself.
If you do not place God at the core of your daily existence. Turning and placing all upon Him you are relying upon yourself and so consider yourself greater than God. So you are worshipping yourself. This is why God dislikes those that say they are of the “church,” but more times acting as if they are of the world than as a child of God. This is having another god before God and that “god” is you.
Ponder that for a while.

Whose timing do you work under?

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People speed about going faster than the speed limit. People yell at the baggage claims person standing outside in the cool fearing their luggage will not make it on to the plane in time. Why? Because they waited to the last minute to get to the airport. These are examples of things I have actually witnessed in my life. Whose timing are these people following? Is it God? The answer is obvious to that. No, they are not.
When people say they are turning over their lives  to God they seem to forget little important aspects of their lives.
You see the first two commandants given to us by Jesus Christ Himself cover a LOT of territory when it comes to a Godly relationship. The First being to love God with all your heart, mind and soul. Simply place God first in EVERY thing you do. From getting to work, appointments, to personal interaction with people you encounter every day.
The second commandant is to treat everyone as you would treat yourself. Simply the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” This actually means to be kind to all. For would you treat yourself unkindly? No you would not. So go to bed sooner, leave earlier, arrive on time or before time, but do it in a way that allows you to work within the confines of human interaction. Simply go the speed limit, share the road. Open a door for someone. Say please and thank you. Smile.
What causes people not to do these things is one thing. Themselves. They are selfish and self-serving, which is counter to the Bible. For we are to humble ourselves and place others before us. We don’t need to be first. We do not need to win. We do not speed to endanger others because we feel they are an inconvenience, because they are blocking us, because they are in front of you.
So whose timing do most people follow? Their own. Does this make them right with God? Very doubtful. As long as people continue to not follow the Bible the doubt grows, their place in the eternal life to come becomes suspect. The need to stand before God in the Great White Throne Judgement guaranteed.

Just read where someone said to keep Christ out of politics.

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Here is the thing that he is forgetting. We are told to place God first in EVERYTHING that we do.
The moment you remove God from politics you are denying God’s greatest commandment to us as given by His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mark 12:29 – And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
How can you give ALL to God if you do not include him in ALL. So it is imperative that we do place God into politics. The reason this nation has lost the blessing of God is due to those that insist God be removed from politics.
“But what about the separation of church from state?” They will say. The answer is simple especially if you actually read the First Amendment of the Constitution. The government cannot make a church. The government cannot interfere with how you practice your religion or for that matter the choice not to practice a religion. This is what is meant by the statement “separation of church and state” not the opposite that has been shoved down our throats for decades. The kicking of religion out of the government is a lie and anything that is a lie comes from the father of lies. So ponder on that for a bit.
If you place God first in all that you do INCLUDING politics it makes you follow the teachings given to us within the Bible as a guide as how we are to respond within politics. Yes with love, but if something is seen as a sin within the Bible then it is opposite God.
This is why it is mandatory for Christians to votes in every election and when they do so they think “How would God vote for this this issue or person.”
Example: If a candidate shows support for someone that lives in sin like homosexuality then this person is a friend of the world. 1 John 2:15 says that to be a friend of the world is not to have the love of God. So this person should be voted against. It is just that simple.
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
You must act within the teaching of the Bible at all times and apply them in every aspect of your life. We have lived to long with other humans telling us how to think, act and vote. It is time we honor God and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ and do as we are taught, place GOD FIRST IN EVERYTHING WE DO.