OUR LORD IS TO BE TOP PRIORITY!

OUR LORD IS TO BE TOP PRIORITY!

So these nations feared the LORD and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day. —II Kings 17:41

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! —Psalm 105:4

            Syncretism… It is nothing new.  It is the mixing of beliefs.  There have been those who “fear the Lord” but not to the point where they give up their gods.  They seek to worship both, but it cannot be done.  We are to “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38). We are to seek Him.  We are to seek His strength.  We are to seek His presence continually.  Are we?  Or, are we practicing syncretism?  Are we looking to follow the Lord while seeking to hang on to some god (idol) or gods (idols) of our own?  Idolatry is a devotion to anything, a love for anything, that seeks to take the priority passion position of our Lord alone.

            Again, are we seeking Him above all else?  Are we seeking His strength above all else?  Are we seeking His presence continually above all else?  Or, do we have a divided heart?  Are we seeking other gods, other things more than Him?  Are we seeking to live in the strength of other gods, other things more than Him?  Are we seeking the presence of other gods, other things more than Him?  Where are our priorities?

            I was looking at Colossians 3:1-4 with a brother recently.  What really grabbed my attention was “Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” and “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”  To set our hearts and minds is to be focused.  Again, we are to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”  This is want we are to be riveted on— the eternal, not the temporal.

            This past week staff at our early learning center were working on weaning a child from their pacifier. He was so focused on having that pacifier.  He was crying for it, clenching his fists and shaking because he wanted it so bad!  Now that boy had his mind and heart set on one thing and one thing only— he wanted that pacifier!  Do we have that type of focus?  Are we riveted on our Lord like that? 

Our testimony will be handed down to our children and their children— one way or another.  May our testimony be that our Lord was first in our life and had a positive impact in our lives and was impacting in the lives of others as well.  Yes, Dear Father, may this be so by the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your dear Son Jesus.  So be it!   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSAN5ObaRQg