Devotion: Always Put God First

God wants to hold first place in your heart.  God wants to be first in your life.  God wants to be the only god that we worship, praise, give thanks to, and serve.  This point is illustrated throughout the scriptures.

“And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:  thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” (Exodus 20:1-5).

When God brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt and liberated them from their slavery, he told them they were not to have any other gods before him.  He did not want them worshipping any other gods other than him.  He did not want them to bow down before any other gods besides him.  He did not want them to serve any other gods besides him.  Because he is a possessive God, he wanted to be first in their lives.  Because he is a jealous God, he did not want to share their affections, their time, or any parts of them with any other gods.

“It is the Lord your God you shall fear.  Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.  You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you—for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 6:13-15 ESV).

The scriptures tell us that we should “fear” the Lord our God, which is just another way of telling us that we should “stand in awe of” and that we should have “reverence, honor, and respect for” the Lord our God.  Because of our “fear” for the Lord our God, we are not to go after any other gods because he is a jealous God, who will not let his honor be given to another.  So why is God so adamant about us serving him and serving him only?

“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness” (Romans 6:16)?

Most people do not know that you actually become a slave to whomever or whatever you yield yourself to and choose to obey.  Yes, you become a slave to that which you give yourself to and in turn, that becomes “your master.”  Most people have no idea that they are slaves to anyone or anything because they have been deceived into believing that they are free to do whatever they want and whatever pleases them.  They claim “to serve no one and no thing” and do not realize that they are actually in bondage, slaves to whomever or whatever they have yielded themselves and have chosen to obey.  Scripture warned us against “worshiping graven images or idols,” but in this day and age, we worship all kinds of things.  These are those same “other gods” we were warned not to have before the Lord our God.

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in)” (Matthew 6:24 AMP).

Scripture tell us that we cannot serve two masters because we will hate one and love the other.  The scripture goes on to say that we will hold to the one, standing by it and be devoted to it while we despise the other and be against it.  Today, we worship “other gods” all the time, but the problem is that most do not know that they do this because they do not know who these other gods be or what they are.  “The other gods” can be “anyone or anything that comes before your relationship with God, anyone or anything that you put your trust in more than you trust in God and/or anyone or anything that seek more then you seek God.”  These “other gods” can be in the form of money, people, pets, possession, activities, or even television shows, amongst many other things.  These “other gods” are what we have become slaves to and what have become “our master.”

God does not want us to put our trust in anyone or anything other than him.  God wants us to draw close to him so that he can draw close to us.  As we humble ourselves before him, he will lift us up and help us (James 4:8-10).  He wants us to trust in him with all our heart and acknowledge him in all our ways and he will direct our steps (Proverbs 3:3-4).  God wants us to delight ourselves in him and he will give us the desires of our heart.  God wants us to commit our ways and everything that we do to him and he will bring them to pass.  God wants us to rest in him and wait patiently for him to act (Psalm 37:3-7).  God wants and deserves to be “first in our life.”  He is the one that we should serve and is the only “master” we should have.

As always, we pray that today’s inspirational message will abundantly bless you, greatly inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

More About KWM

Kingdom Worker Ministries offers a series of products and resources to those desiring to dig deeper into the Word of God and break traditionalism to gain full truth of God’s words and principles.  Our products are designed to increase your awareness, improve your understanding, deepen your knowledge and inspire you to walk in truth.

Our desire is to impart knowledge that will enable you to discern the truths hidden in God’s word (Ezekiel 44:23) and to provide validation to those who have an ear to hear his word (Ephesians 4:29).

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