Are we Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing?
Since Jesus very clearly taught that the most important thing to do in obedience to God is to keep HIM first above ALL other THINGS; to love Him with ALL of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength, and to love others as we love ourselves; Jesus is supposed to be the main thing in our lives. But is He? Sadly, in light of our most persistent thoughts and the words of our mouths, the honest answer to that question is probably not. So as we consider the following verses of scripture, it’s also important to consider what we need to do to make sure that we are in fact putting the Lord first and making Him the most important and main thing in our lives, because failure to do so is sin and can therefore hinder our prayers and how God works in our lives and the restoration of our marriages and families.
Mark 12:29-31 says “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” This is not a new passage of scripture to most of us, but do we ever consider it in light of some of the other passages we so love?
For instance, do we think of this instruction from Jesus when we quote Proverbs 3:5-6 and Psalm 37:4-6? How can we commit to His ways or acknowledge God in all of our ways if we don’t observe and obey His most important commandment and love Him above ALL else, as well as love others according to His Word? Do we even realize that our failure to obey the Lord reveals that we don’t truly love Him according to John 14:24, where Jesus said He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. Yet, 1 John 2:5-6 says But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. And we know how Jesus walked based on John 15:10, which says If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
For instance, do we recognize the importance of Jesus’ instructions when we read Matthew 6:21, which says For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.? And do we realize that we literally reveal to everyone listening just where our treasure is by the words we speak? Well, we do according to Luke 6:45, because it says The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. With this in mind, there’s a lot to learn from today’s Coffee Break devotional from Lorraine Ezell, and we all need to consider what our words reveal to others about where our treasure is.
“Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” Job 7:11
As you watch the news you realize that if something wasn’t happening- a storm, an election, a murder trial, a custody battle, a war, etc- they wouldn’t have anything to talk about. When something does make “news”, the reporters “run it in the ground”, that is ALL they talk about. It seems as if the world stopped and nothing else is taking place. I noticed this as I watched the weather channel today. Every moment was consumed with Gustav (don’t misunderstand, I am thankful for the updates and information they provide, but I am trying to make a point.) I wondered what they would have to talk about if there was no storm?
Sadly, there are a lot of people- even in the church- who are like this. If there isn’t something “bad” happening, they don’t have anything to talk about. They spend all their time talking about the trouble they are going through, or have been through. It’s the only subject that comes out of their mouth. Each time you see them, they repeat it to you.. over and over again. You ask them how they are and they go right back to this same subject. You always know what they are going to say before they say it.
I am not trying to be critical. I know that very real things happen to us. I know that there are times we need to relate what we are going through. I know that sometimes we need a compassionate hear to listen. This is not what I am talking about. What I am talking about is deeper than that. It has become a “security blanket” to them. And even deeper– it’s become a bondage. They reach a point where they can’t talk about anything else. If that is you— it’s time to break free. It’s time to leave it in the past. It’s time to develop a new habit of talking. It’s time to change your speaking. It’s time to get a new subject. There is so much more to talk about.
God desires that our mouths be full of words that edify, minister, comfort and exhort others. It’s time to put the law of kindness in your mouth. It’s time to fill it
with good things. It’s time to fill it with words of faith that tend to life. It’s time to fill it with words of peace, wisdom and joy. It’s time to fill it with praise, adoration and thanksgiving to the Lord. It’s time to talk more about the grace, forgiveness, mercy, goodness and faithfulness of God. There are a thousand other things you can fill your mouth with, and it’s time to do it.
Have a great day. Is it time to change the subject?
Coffee Break is a morning devotional
written by Lorraine Ezell, and available online and sent by email free of charge
for the asking from About the Master’s Business Ministry, Inc.
So please feel free to call Lorraine at (601) 833-5278 or E-mail her at mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net
And you can visit her on the web at MastersBusiness.org.
And it’s probably not at all y coincidence that today’s Small Straws In A Soft Wind message from Marsha Burns fits perfectly with this message as follows:
“Psalm 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Rise above the problems of life and seek My face to re- establish eternal and spiritual perspective. As long as you keep your difficult circumstances constantly before your face, My face will be obscured. Choose to trust Me and to know that My grace is sufficient for every situation. I will bring you through every trial in victory, and I tell you absolutely that this too shall pass, says the Lord.”
You can read Bill and Marsha Burns’ messages online and sign up to receive them by email on the Spirit of Prophecy website, where you will also find archived messages.
Finally, a good way to make sure that we keep the main thing the main thing is to follow the very good and wise counsel found in Joshua 22:5, which says But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul.” And when we do all of that, we will indeed be blessed and encouraged beyond belief, because that will keep Jesus the main thing!