Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

2 Samuel 9:1-11:27
John 15:1-27
Psalm 119:49-64
Proverbs 16:1-3

Lately I have been hearing the phrase repeatedly - put God first in your life and things will fall into place.  I asked a dear friend yesterday....how do I put God first in my life?  Is there a certain way to do this?  How do I know if I am putting God first in my life?  Her answer was to act and speak as Jesus would.  Before you say or do something, think about it with Jesus at the center of your decision.  In this way, God will be leading you and thus be at the center of your life and coming first in all of your decisions.  I guess sometimes I just try to complicate or over-think my life.

I read 2 Samuel 9:1-11:27 and considered how David tried to "show kindness" to different individuals.  Some like Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, were deeply honored that the king would notice a "dog like me", a cripple.   Yet others like Hanun, son of the Ammonite king, Nahash, was misled by his adviser and mistrusted David's intentions to repay the kindness Nahash had shown to David.  Thus ensued yet another war after the disgrace of David's men.

David was trying to repay the kindness shown to him by many....then, the way of the world took over.  He saw Bathsheba, desired her, had his way with her, and then had her husband killed on the battlefield.  Obviously, David did not have the Lord at the center of his life at this point in time.  Eventually, he realized what he did was very wrong, but through his repentance, the Lord forgave him as the Lord always did with David.  David was indeed a man after God's own heart.

So after thinking about how I am supposed to put God first in my life, it came as quite a surprise when my verses for Tuesday so easily answered my questions.  John 15:5 - "I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, apart from me, you can do nothing."  Remain in Jesus, act, think and do as He would - that is putting Him first.  The clincher came when I got to Proverbs 16:3 - "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed".  There are no coincidences - the Lord Himself gave me the answer to my question.  How amazing is that!!   Praise God!