Seek God First

Seek God First

“The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.” – 1 Kings 3:4 Now that it’s December 26, I find myself thinking again about the fact that another year is nearly over. Even more importantly, I am beginning to contemplate the one that lies ahead as I seek to prepare my mind and heart for the new challenges and adventures that await.  For inspiration, I find myself looking to the example of King Solomon. At the time he took the throne, this young ruler, who was the son of the legendary King David, had major problems. His brothers were jealous of his reign, the tribal rulers of Israel didn’t like him, he had some big bad enemies at the border, and he had no idea how to lead the people. Knowing that the

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A Different Kind of Person

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” – Matthew 6:24 Growing and living every day with God is the best kind of life we can live. I was blessed to attend Business School at a Christian college, while at the same time working at a real estate investment company. These worlds were polar opposites. In both spaces, I made friends who were on a journey to success. There were two in particular, whose stories went in opposite directions.  One guy I worked with, we’ll call him Brian, was a real go-getter and I was convinced that he would become financially successful someday. His dream was to own a Porsche 911 turbo and make money. I admired his drive to move into that

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Wisdom for a Worry-free Life

“And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” – Luke 12:29-31 Jesus has a practical solution for worry. He instructs us to seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all will be delivered to us. I recently heard this great line by a pastor: “Why pray when you can worry.” We see the humor in this, don’t we? Many of us are hoping to get a break from our worries. However, we must acknowledge the unfortunate reality of the many concerns in the world today. Once we accept this, we can begin to change our viewpoint. We can set our sights in one direction: the Lord.  Jesus uses

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Willpower Has No Effect on Worry

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:33,34 Lately, we’ve been talking a lot about anxiety and how we may seek to reduce its impact on our lives. Today, I want to encourage you that winning the anxiety war is a natural outgrowth of pursuing God’s Kingdom above all else, not by your strength and determination. You will have a more serene existence if you prioritize Him in your life. When it comes to trying not to worry, willpower doesn’t work, and here is where many Christians become discouraged. Even if I tell you not to think of a purple elephant dressed in a tutu and wearing a sombrero, I guarantee you will. Why? Because even

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God Gives More

“When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.” – 2 Chronicles 20:24,25 As we wrap up our discussion about Jehoshaphat and the victory God granted the nation of Judah under his reign, I want to leave us with one final thought — when we wait for Him, the Lord always gives us more. Not only does He fight our battles so we remain safe, but He pours blessings into our lives lavishly. It’s interesting that when the Jewish soldiers arrived

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A Kingdom Perspective

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33 I know this verse is familiar, and that’s good, because it’s really important, especially in the times in which we’re living. After watching the world be turned upside down by an unexpected pandemic and witnessing the instability and heartache it’s caused on many levels, a lot of us have been forced to embrace a paradigm shift. Much of what we’ve put our hope in for a long time has been removed, and the Lord has peeled back the layers of worldly security that we unknowingly held on to. In the absence of certainty in the areas of health, freedom, and finances, we’ve come face-to-face with not knowing what the future holds — and my prayer is that it’s driven us straight to the heart of God. You see,

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Seek God First

“The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.” – 1 Kings 3:4 Now that it’s December 26, I am thinking about another year that is nearly over. More importantly, I am contemplating the one that lies ahead as I seek to prepare my mind and heart for the new challenges and adventures that await. For inspiration, I find myself looking to the example of Solomon. Though he became a famous king in his own right, at the time he took the throne, this young ruler, who was the son of the legendary King David, had major problems. His brothers were jealous of his reign, the tribal rulers of Israel didn’t like him, he had some big bad enemies at the border, and he had no idea how to lead people. Knowing that

Read More »

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