Friday, October 12, 2012

Put God 1st?

I was recently thinking about the well wishes people gave at my brother's wedding. It seemed that every "spiritual person" wanted to tell him and his wife to put God 1st and everything will work out. Then I started to think about the fact that we say "Put God first" because we think we can place God in our lives where we think He fits. In effect we're doing this from day to day Oh today I need you God so you can be first or I'm kind of busy today God so I'm going to put you in like 3rd or 4th or Ok, today Lord you're 2nd on my list. How absolutely crazy is it for us to think that the God who sacrificed Himself for us did it just so we can work Him into our lives where we see fit. He died not too become a hobby for us to work into our lives once or twice a week, if He's lucky. He died to now become our life, to take the driver seat. "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. The sinful mind is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you."Romans 8:6-11 If you don't give up all for Christ including your own will he says you are not His disciple..."If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple...those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples."Luke 14:26 & 33 So is God just a hobby of yours? Is He something you claim to show you are a good person or a badge you wear that proclaims "I'm a Chirstian"? Or, is He your life? Have you given free reign to the Holy Spirit to will and do in you what He pleases? Can you Just Live Christ?