PRIORITIZE

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

I was blessed and honored yesterday to journey down to Hillsboro and spend some time with a group of remarkable church leaders.  This team is in contemplation and prayer regarding becoming one of our MOST comprehensive RECOVERY CENTER churches in 2019.  It is most exciting, and it was a most inspiring day to say the least.

And while traveling down to southern Ohio yesterday morning I tuned in to my local congregations FACEBOOK live feed.  And while the connection was a little “faulty” at times I did have a strong connection at the time that our Pastor Mark shared this from Haggai 1:6.

Take a good, hard look at your life.

    Think it over.

You have spent a lot of money,

    but you haven’t much to show for it.

You keep filling your plates,

    but you never get filled up.

You keep drinking and drinking and drinking,

    but you’re always thirsty.

You put on layer after layer of clothes,

    but you can’t get warm.

I believe that Pastor was making the point that life without GOD regardless how prosperous, regardless how bountiful, regardless how comfortable is NEVER fully SATISFYING.

In this passage GOD was lamenting that MUCH attention was being given to empty pursuits at the expense of reconstructing the Temple and Mark was echoing to the congregation that we must guard against doing the same; pursuing interests that exclude or deprioritize GOD.  At least this is what I gleaned in between interruption from the feed due to the spotty cell service.

But what immediately came to mind was another passage that I use quite often both in my counseling and in my recovery work. 

…what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. – Galatians 5:19-21 (MSG)

Paul and Haggai BOTH are sending us a pretty important warning.  As we wade into a NEW YEAR and this NEW SEASON, we MUST make sure that GOD’S priorities take FIRST PLACE!

Honor God with everything…; give him the first and the best.

Proverbs 3:8 (MSG)

I don’t need to reinforce today’s message much further.  Let’s prioritize GOD and what HE wants from us for today!  Let’s hold our SELFISH pursuits at bay.  Let’s honor GOD with our FIRST and BEST!

For…

When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities. - Benson

I love you all!

Have a BLESSED DAY!!!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE