{"id":32720,"date":"2021-09-02T03:30:20","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T10:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=32720"},"modified":"2021-08-31T16:00:28","modified_gmt":"2021-08-31T23:00:28","slug":"september-2-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2021\/09\/02\/september-2-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"September 2, 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cYou shall have no other gods before Me.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Deuteronomy 5:7, Exodus 20:3<\/p>\n

Putting God First<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Walk His Way Revisited<\/em><\/p>\n

I recently heard on the radio that 67% of all people check their e-mail, smart phone, or other devices, first thing in the morning and last thing before bed each day. I got to thinking, that seems like a high number. What about brushing your teeth, having coffee with your spouse, praying, opening your Bible? I was contemplating this when I thought, do I do this? Oh no, I am not always in that 67% but I have to be honest, sometimes I am guilty of this. This thought convicted me to look into God\u2019s Word and see what scripture has to say.<\/p>\n

Any excessive devotion to a person or a thing, anything we put before God, can be an idol in our lives. An idol is anything that replaces or takes the rightful place of the One True God. This can be anything that is put before God in our lives. Idolatry can also include our pride, greed, attitudes, and love of possessions. God demands to be first in our lives. The first Commandment is very clear on this (Exodus 20:3 and Deuteronomy 5:7).<\/p>\n

God is jealous for our attention and our worship of Him, and rightfully so. He is our Creator. The very breath we breathe is because of Him. Deuteronomy 32:16 says,\u00a0\u201cThey provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with detestable practices\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(NIV). Are we living our lives being faithful to our faithful God? Every generation has things that pull attention away from God, if it is allowed. We need to be mindful of how we spend our time and what we focus on most in our lives.<\/p>\n

After reading about idolatry, idols, and our jealous God, I turned to Jesus. I have found I can never go wrong seeing what Jesus did in His life on earth and trying to live by His example. Jesus spent lots of time with His Father God, in prayer! Mark 1:35 says, \u201cNow in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He (Jesus) went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Jesus knew the secret of His strength and that was quiet time with God. If Jesus can start His day praying, surely we also can. Jesus was a very busy man, with a limited time to save mankind; He had a message to give out, disciples to train, people who needed all sorts of healings, yet He knew the power of prayer and spending time with His Father.<\/p>\n

The Bible has much to say about prayer and examples of how to pray: the Lord\u2019s Prayer, Matthew 6:9-13; prayer for wisdom, 1 Kings 3:5-14; intercessory prayer, Genesis 18:22-33. These are just a few examples. I found in the Psalms some beautiful verses on prayer. Psalm 55:17:\u00a0\u201cEvening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Psalm 88:13:\u00a0\u201cBut to You I have cried out, O LORD, and in the morning my prayer comes before You.\u201d<\/em> Psalm 141:2:\u00a0\u201cLet my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0I believe God wants us to start and end each day with Him in prayer.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, please direct our thoughts to You, Lord. Help us to put the distractions of our busy lives in proper perspective and put You first. In Jesus\u2019 Name, Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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