Seek First the Kingdom

On May 31st, Mr. Chambers' devotional includes an entry entitled Put God First. Because this entry seems very fitting for me to "re-start" my blogging with...here goes.

The Holy Spirit has proved to me, yet again, that He can sift through as much junk as I can pile on top of my heart to get in the way of God's plan or design for my life. Said another way, I cannot make enough mistakes, keep enough idols, be stressed out enough, or have taken 1 too many steps away from God for Him through His Spirit to come through and say, "You're not seeking me." Said in a way that is straight from the Bible, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present or future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - From Romans 8:38,39

Now, that being said; it doesn't mean that when He comes and says "You're not seeking me" that seeking will be easy to do so. It does not mean that it will make any worldly sense to do so. However, if you have chosen to believe in Jesus Christ and have a great amount of proverbial "junk" piled on your heart, you will know in your heart and in your mind 2 things. You will begin to understand that you are not seeking Him, which may come to a surprise for you (as it did me). Second, you realize that change is necessary; change that gets you into position to seek Him first at all costs. Until I was able to separate myself from my "daily life" for a few days (I was on vacation at the time), and reflect on what is really going on in your heart...you think you are serving God and seeking Him first. In my case, which is all I can speak to, Satan was definitely tricking me into believing that in spite of how stressed out I was, and how negatively my attitude was impacting my environment that I was doing what God wanted me to do.

Sound familiar? It's the same story as in Genesis, when the serpent (Satan) tricked Eve into eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It's the same trick, just different person, different time, and different circumstances. Same Satan, same God, same results. For many years, this was the case, and Satan had me tricked into believe that I was living for God; led by the Holy Spirit. Oh don't get me wrong, the Holy Spirit was working through me. There were times when I would say things to my friends, or in church groups that was wisdom or understanding I know I did not come to on my own. See, when Satan gets involved, he doesn't need to shut you down completely, he just needs to veer you off or distract you from what God is doing in your life. It's about what God wants YOU to do. You can (and often times will) be very busy with seemingly "good things" when Satan has you right where he wants you. Much discernment is needed in these times in life.

My apologies, I've digressed. Back to the title of the post, which is "Seek First the Kingdom."
Matthew 6:33: "But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Hmmm...all these things. What are all these things? Well, in the paragraph before this verse, we're told. They are to not worry about the following: your life, what you will eat or drink, about your body, what you will wear, about adding a single hour to your span of life. So, if you seek God's Kingdom first, all these things will be given to you as well. Let me say again, that there is a major amount of discernment to be happening in this process. I don't recommend resigning your job just because you think that you are not seeking God. You can definitely just re-focus your priorities and get back on track with God. That is if you know what God is asking of you, and the something God is asking of you is in line with whatever you find yourself currently involved in.

Prayer and reading God's word is important here. If you are not spending time with the Lord, chances are that you will not know what He is asking of you. The Holy Spirit speaks to you about your life and truth that is God's word as it is relevant to your life if you have chosen to believe in Jesus Christ and been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If you know what God is asking of you, then you just have to do whatever it takes to get to where doing that is a priority in your life. Make God priority 1. Make His Kingdom come first, and the stuff that you need will be provided for you by a living God, who is alive in us through the Holy Spirit because of the great sacrifice of God's son, Jesus Christ.

The problem comes when you are working only for the things that God promises anyway if you seek His kingdom first. It is like you are just skipping over God. I know this is a challenge, and I'm challenging many people's theology here. It is good, and sometimes God, to work for those things. Again discernment is needed. Are you receiving the things in your life (what you will eat, drink, wear, etc) because you having the $$$ to go out and get those things for yourself and your family; OR are you receiving the things in your life from God, because you are seeking his Kingdom first.

I'm going to end this here, because I am already walking a "thin line" so to speak. God can be in your life, working. At the same time, Satan can be in your life, working. God is bigger than Satan, but people are warned in the Bible that they should not serve 2 masters. That's the thing isn't it? It is possible for you and me to be serving 2 masters at the same time in different (or even the same) parts of our lives. This is the danger. There is a difference between simply having a sinful nature and screwing up...asking God for forgiveness, and unknowingly serving 2 masters if you have made a decision for Christ. Making a decision for Jesus Christ means that you have decided to have only 1 master. I encourage you to look deep into your life and where provision is coming from. Are you providing for yourself separate from the will of God for your life; or is your provision coming from Him because you have decided to put His kingdom first? Only you and God, through the Holy Spirit can make that call, and take action if it is necessary.