Above All Else

When we look at our life there is always “one thing” that will be above everything else. People may not even know what their life is about in many cases. Even having to think about the most important thing in their life is offensive to many people. The fact that we do not want to think or know what our life is about will make no difference on judgment day. What our life was about will be explained to us in detail. The best way to focus our life is to get ourselves right with the Creator. Here is an example of an important man and what he wanted his life to be about.  O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live. Psalms 63:1-4 (NLT) King David felt that the love of God was above everything else in his life. The amazing thing is that the more we desire God as number one, the more he makes it possible.

This is the reason that the Lord said he really loved David in spite of the times David failed to act Godly. If we want to serve God we must have a relationship with him. We should know the name of God and what He is like. The Scriptures instruct us to love Him so it is important that we respond to our Creator in the correct way.  I want you to show (Me) love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6 (NLT) God has always been worthy of our sacrifices because He is our Creator and without Him we cannot even take a breath. But in this verse God says that He wants us to know Him above anything else in our lives. There are no other Gods that have ever made such a request. They are all hiding something from their followers but our God wants us to know everything about Him. What a huge difference this makes in the relationship we can have with God. The first part of this verse says “I want you to show love” to Me. There is no way to ignore God and not have to answer for a bad attitude. He wants us and we must want Him.

God has always reached out to help people who desire him to be first in their lives. In the old days names had great meaning. We don’t fully understand how important a name was but we do know that in the beginning of our history it was very important. The first time you met someone their name would tell many things about who they were. As God reached out to humans he gave his name as an introduction.  And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh—‘the Lord.’  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty’ —but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them. Ex 6:2-3 (NLT) Here we see God telling something about himself that Moses needed to know. In Abraham’s time the people were being introduced to the “Almighty” who had created everything including each individual. But when Moses was in big trouble, attempting to rescue the Israelites from Egypt he prayed and God gave his personal name so Moses could serve Him better. The additional meaning contained in the name Yahweh is interpreted as “the God who provides redemption for His people.” This greatly reassured Moses.

One of our problems today is that many people decide to put God above all else but they want to do it in their own way. They look at the covenant God has provided for our salvation and they pick and choose the things they want and then ignore the things they don’t want. This will never work. God’s gospel plan was designed to bring people into his likeness while forming one body that works in unison. When God brought Israel out of Egypt, he did it as one great body of people. Some of them complained and were lost. God intends to deliver Christians as one great body and those that do not conform will be left behind. Above all else we must keep our lives true to the covenant of our salvation and fellowship. Jesus Christ is our new covenant and we know a lot about him simply by learning his many names. Here are some examples, Advocate, Bread of life, Eternal Judge, King, Lord of all, Master, Redeemer, True Vine and etc. In fact, Jesus is referred to by more than 200 names in the New Testament.

We have a wonderful God who not only created us but then later revealed that he would rescue every one of His people who loved him. It makes sense that God said “I want you to show love” to Me because he first showed love to us. Today the people of this world can only know God as the “I AM” but if they approach God asking His help He will reveal the redemption plan to them. When we do love God, He expects us to honor the covenant that applies to us. Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him. Deut 7:9-10 (NLT) We have a loving and faithful God who wants to rescue us from the destruction that we deserve. Our God is the great “I AM” and he wants to provide for our redemption through the Savior Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit as Lord of our daily life.

Above all else, seek God in the way he has provided.

Obeying the Word

Sometimes it seems that the men, women, and children that God created and procreated have all forgotten how good it is, to know and utilize the word “obey.” To obey is a proper and eternal response to all righteous requests. There are times that we do not want to obey but it is still necessary for us to follow instructions. Everyone knows that we must tell a child not to put his hand into a fire. Some of them will obey and be happy but others decide to disobey and receive a painful burn. It is not that simple to obey the Word of God because life is very complex. But if we want to qualify as a member of God’s elite family we must learn to obey.  Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. Heb 5:8-9 (NLT). People like to say “I believe in Jesus” and they proceed to live their life any way they choose. What would have happened if Jesus had not obeyed the Father and had simply lived anyway He wanted?

Jesus is willing to be our source of eternal salvation only when we obey the word of God. Maybe we should explain that every single human on this earth is born with their own death and eternal punishment to be paid. Because of our sinful ways we can never live around God who is perfect. Most Americans know that Jesus came to earth and provided a solution for our redemption. It seems that they do not know that in order to be part of God’s eternity they must deny themselves (pick up their cross) and learn to obey the Lord. Every human is born with a chance to live in eternity forever if we are willing to obey God’s Word. Of course, many people say that they don’t obey anybody but they are actually wrong. The Scriptures say; Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Romans 6:16 (NLT). If these people could only see that they are already obeying their sinful nature maybe they would see the need to reject their present evil master.

There is one big reason why many people do not live a life dedicated to God. It is because all humans are born with a naturally bad way of thinking. The Scripture says; The Lord knows people’s thoughts; he knows they are worthless! Psalms 94:11 (NLT) This may seem offensive to some people but it is true. The New Testament spells it out for us; Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.  Eph 4:17-19 Our natural thinking is never going to be Godly. This is why Paul said; Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Eph 4:21-24 (NLT) If we want to join God some day it is necessary to put on the new nature which will allow us to successfully obey the Word of God.

Today we have a choice to obey the Savior. This will not always be the case; at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2:10-11 (NLT) Someday it will be compulsory to confess that Jesus is our Lord because it is true. There will be no reward if we are forced to say it. We must love God and confess our Lord now.  Jesus is the Word of God therefore he is the one we must obey; So the Word became human and made his home among us… And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. John 1:14. One time Jesus told his disciples; “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 Jesus is the only way that any human can find eternal salvation. Jesus told his disciples; the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest Mark 4:20 (NLT) To accept God’s word means that we will obey words of Jesus as our Lord.

After we have heard the Word of the Gospel and obeyed our call, we will begin to learn about trusting or having faith as most call it. Trusting is necessary so that our obedience can be wholehearted because we learn that everything He asks of us is right.  This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith (trusting) that a righteous person has (eternal) life.” Romans 1:17 (NLT) We can begin to see how that all the elements of salvation must work together. Our salvation is not about doing just one element but everything in our life must fit together in its proper place.  We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. Eph 2:21-22 It may be difficult to believe but we are being put together so that we may become a suitable part of the body of Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, the bottom line for people who do know God but they do not obey Him, is exactly the same as it is for people who never accepted God at all. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. 2 Thess 1:7-9 (NLT) The only divine punishment for eternity is to suffer torment and the only way to escape this terrible situation is to obey every part of God’s Word. This means that our natural thinking must be changed and that can only be done by the Spirit of Jesus. God will give us the greatest hope in the universe if we will surrender our thinking to Him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 (NLT) If you want to be saved let God change you into the type of person that can live with Him in eternity. Living with God is why we must obey the Word and in addition we will receive the greatest reward ever imagined by a human.