God is Number One
God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and he wrote them in stone.
The purpose of these commandments is to keep us from wondering all over the place.
They direct us in the way God wants us to go.
The first commandment in Exodus 20:3 states, "You shall have no other gods before me.
" This is straight to the point.
The Old Testament has many stories of people melting gold and other possessions, shaping them into statues, and tagging them with a name and worshiping them.
In Matthew 4:10 Jesus says, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.
" Jesus tells us to praise, devote, and serve only God.
We are all human.
As humans, we have the power of choice.
If you are like me, at times you have a tug of war between two gods-Our Creator and yourself.
When I pray, read the bible, and meditate on its passages, I enjoy peace of mind and comfort.
I ask God to show me his will and give me the power to carry it out.
Keep me focused on you Lord and your desires.
Now I step outside.
I find myself in a traffic jam, spill coffee on my trousers, as I answer my cell phone and cannot find a parking spot.
It now comes back to my world.
What do I want? The bible verses I read and meditated on just a short time ago are far from my mind and heart.
I am running the show.
I am making the decisions.
When I exclude God from my decision-making, I usually experience disaster.
I know how the scenario will turn out yet I step out and attempt to do it my way.
God is no longer number one in my life.
Look out world here I come.
When life calms down and I come to my senses, I am reminded and thankful that, one...
there is a God, and two...
I am not him.
God desires to be number one in our life.
There are times I allow outside circumstances to push him from the top spot.
I accept responsibility for that decision.
It is my choice where I want to place God in my life.
When Paul entered Athens (Acts 17:16-34), the Greeks worshiped as many as thirty thousand gods.
The Greeks were not taking any chances of missing a god.
They built a statue with the inscription TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.
Paul used this as an opening to the one true God.
He explains to his Greek audience that his God is the creator of the world and everything in it.
His God is the one authority and is in complete control, while at the same time being close and personal to us.
What has God done (or is God doing) in your life, that makes him worthy of your worship? Is there something you can do this week to worship God? Our deepest desire should be to keep God number one in our life because of who he is.
God is the only one with the power and ability to meet our every need.
Secondly, keep God number one for what he did.
God sacrificed his only son so we will enjoy eternal life with him.
The purpose of these commandments is to keep us from wondering all over the place.
They direct us in the way God wants us to go.
The first commandment in Exodus 20:3 states, "You shall have no other gods before me.
" This is straight to the point.
The Old Testament has many stories of people melting gold and other possessions, shaping them into statues, and tagging them with a name and worshiping them.
In Matthew 4:10 Jesus says, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.
" Jesus tells us to praise, devote, and serve only God.
We are all human.
As humans, we have the power of choice.
If you are like me, at times you have a tug of war between two gods-Our Creator and yourself.
When I pray, read the bible, and meditate on its passages, I enjoy peace of mind and comfort.
I ask God to show me his will and give me the power to carry it out.
Keep me focused on you Lord and your desires.
Now I step outside.
I find myself in a traffic jam, spill coffee on my trousers, as I answer my cell phone and cannot find a parking spot.
It now comes back to my world.
What do I want? The bible verses I read and meditated on just a short time ago are far from my mind and heart.
I am running the show.
I am making the decisions.
When I exclude God from my decision-making, I usually experience disaster.
I know how the scenario will turn out yet I step out and attempt to do it my way.
God is no longer number one in my life.
Look out world here I come.
When life calms down and I come to my senses, I am reminded and thankful that, one...
there is a God, and two...
I am not him.
God desires to be number one in our life.
There are times I allow outside circumstances to push him from the top spot.
I accept responsibility for that decision.
It is my choice where I want to place God in my life.
When Paul entered Athens (Acts 17:16-34), the Greeks worshiped as many as thirty thousand gods.
The Greeks were not taking any chances of missing a god.
They built a statue with the inscription TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.
Paul used this as an opening to the one true God.
He explains to his Greek audience that his God is the creator of the world and everything in it.
His God is the one authority and is in complete control, while at the same time being close and personal to us.
What has God done (or is God doing) in your life, that makes him worthy of your worship? Is there something you can do this week to worship God? Our deepest desire should be to keep God number one in our life because of who he is.
God is the only one with the power and ability to meet our every need.
Secondly, keep God number one for what he did.
God sacrificed his only son so we will enjoy eternal life with him.
Source...