Listen to Devotion

[Jesus said] “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.”

Faith, family, and football. God, country, and fishing. Sports, traveling, and work. Partying, sleeping, and eating. What are your priorities? There are so many things in life that demand our time and attention, and it is a challenge to prioritize them. The things in our lives seem to compete. More time at work means less time with the kids. More time with hobbies means less time with our spouses. More time with family means less time spent somewhere else.

Priorities are hard. We mix them up all the time. It is a difficult balancing act as we try to spend time between work and family and God. Then, of course, we all have hobbies, vacations, and kids’ schedules and before we know it, we don’t have sufficient time for the important things in life. Selfishly, we tend to prioritize the things that matter most to us, often at the expense of other people in our lives.

Jesus challenges us to reorder our priorities. He says to put God first. Everything else comes second. He knows what he’s talking about. Throughout his time on earth, Jesus had but one priority, and that was to keep God first in his life. In so doing, Jesus perfectly carried out God’s plan of saving you and me from eternal death. Rather than put himself first, Jesus kept God as his number one priority. As a result, you and I are forgiven and saved, and Jesus was raised back to his rightful place in heaven.

The God who did all this for us now wants us to keep him as our first priority. He commands this for our own good. He knows that our lives will be blessed when we keep him first, and he wants nothing more than for us to join him in heaven someday.

Dear Jesus, thank you for keeping your priorities straight in saving me from sin and death. Help me now to order my life around you and to keep God first in my life. Amen.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.