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The other day I was watching a show that featured one of the most amazing jugglers I have ever seen. There wasn’t anything this guy couldn’t juggle. Of course after watching this man make juggling look so easy, I decided to go to my own fruit basket and give it a try. I have a confession to make. I discovered that I am the worst juggler ever. Maybe you have never tried to juggle oranges before, but chances are there have been times in your life that life itself has seemed like a juggling act. It reminds me of this verse. . .
Col 1:18
He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
Have you ever wondered what it really means to have Jesus first place in everything? We really should be asking that question since Paul, the author of Colossians, took the time to write it down and point it out to us.
To be in first place means that you are in the front position ready to cross the finish line before any one else.
For me, life tends to be more like a juggling act then a race. Between responsibilities at work, responsibilities at home, taking the kids to their activities, visiting family and friends, exercising, along with many other little tasks, it can become a challenge to have Jesus in the first place position. The reason we all tend to get off track on this one is because Jesus never shouts at us for our attention. Our jobs shout at us. Our families shout at us. Our finances shout at us, but Jesus? Never! Have you ever heard the expression “the squeaky wheel gets all the grease."? Unfortunately sometimes we use up all the grease on different parts of our life and then have nothing left for God.
Here is a little test for you to take right now. Jesus is to be first place in everything, so here are some tough questions to see how you are doing on this. . . How is Jesus first place in your marriage? In other words, what are you doing that demonstrates that He is in the lead position in your marriage? If Jesus really were in first place with your marriage, would the conversation about divorce even happen? Here is another one. . . How is Jesus first place in your career? Again, what are you doing that demonstrates He is in the lead position in your career? If He really was, do you think that you would be an unproductive worker or an employee who is known for badmouthing his boss behind his back? Ok…ready for the next one yet?. . .I didn’t think so, but here it goes anyway. . . How is Jesus first place in your money? (Money is part of the "everything" Paul wrote about.) In other words, what are you doing with your money that demonstrates He is leading you with your money? If He is really in first place with your money, do you think that you would be going so much in debt? Let’s do one more. How is Jesus first place with your time? This is our most precious commodity, even more than money. Money comes and goes, but time just goes! Let me rephrase this question. . What are you doing with your time that demonstrates He is in the lead with your schedule? If He is, do you think that you still would miss so many services at church? We could go on and on, but you get the idea.
It is easier said than done, right? However, before we get too involved with how to make Jesus have first place in everything, I think I need to point out why Paul even wrote it down in the first place. Once you better understand the why, it will become easier to do the how.
First of all, God does not want you to do it because He needs His ego stroked. He wants to have first place so that He can lead us. God knows we get lost way to easy. God has a destination marked out for us, but the only way we will arrive there is by following Him because He is the one who knows the way. Matter of fact, Jesus declared in John 14:6 that He is the way! The other part of Colossians 1:18 says that Jesus is the head and the church is the body. Do you think you would have a difficult time navigating yourself through the city if you didn’t have a head attached to your body? The closest thing I have seen to this is a chicken that got its head chopped off at one of my friend’s house when I was little. After the ax fell and the head popped off, the chicken’s body went crazy running all over the yard until finally it just fell to the ground. God wants to be first place so you won’t have to go through life like that chicken. You will only be able to run around like that for so long and then one day you will just drop to the ground. God has a promise land life for us, but the only way we will make it there is by putting Him first!
The second reason why Jesus is to have first place in everything is because God wants you to be a more faith-oriented person, trusting more in Him than in yourself or your stuff. What are you really involved in that you are having to trust God for? Most of the time, it is only when life hands you some troubles that you put God in front of the rest. When you do this, He actually does move for you. This is why Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will be added unto you.” Every time God does move, it becomes a new reminder that He loves you and it allows you to become that much closer with your Savior. In other words, God uses those moments to build up your faith in Him.
The bible is full of amazing events that unfolded when God’s people chose to place Him first. King Jehoshaphat put God first in a battle by placing the Praise band in front of the army. They ended up winning the war, even though they were outgunned and outnumbered. The three men in the book of Daniel (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) chose to place God first instead of bowing down to a golden statue. They ended up dancing in the midst of a furnace with Jesus and came out unburned. Daniel had a similar story. A decree went out from the king declaring it illegal to pray to God. Daniel chose to place God first, even in front of the law. Because of that, he was thrown into a den full of lions, but came out the next morning very much alive and unharmed.
Now that you understand why Jesus wants to be first place in everything, the how becomes a lot less complicated. Really, it all comes down to a personal choice. To place God first does not mean you have to stop juggling all that you have going on. It simply means that you hand the juggling balls to Jesus and let Him do it for you. This is the only way you will be able to know Him and find the abundant life that He has promised for you to have.
If you have some great tips on how you have been able to make Jesus first in difficult areas of your life, feel free to join the conversation. Post a comment at the end of this article and let everyone know how you did it.
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Many people that I talk to tell me that they feel God has called them to be Pastors. I think that is great. The world definitely needs more of them, but I wonder why I have never heard anyone say they have been called to be the clean-up person. Matter of fact, it seems as though clean-up is the least popular job out of all jobs associated with church. We can get all kinds of volunteers to set up for a ministry event, but when the event is done, hardly anyone sticks around to see that things get put back and cleaned up.
Jesus teaches that in order for us to grow and advance in God's kingdom we must be willing to lower ourselves by serving others.
In Matthew Chapter 20, the mother of two of Jesus' disciples makes a request that her sons be on the right and left side of Jesus in His kingdom. It seems like such a noble request. Yet, Jesus responds by saying basically, "Woman, you have no idea what you are asking for." In her mind, the closer her boys could be to the throne, the more powerful they would be and the closer they would be to greatness. Yet, Jesus says this. . .
Matt 20:25-28
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
God's kingdom is so different from our kingdom here on earth. Our kingdom desires authority and loves the spotlight. God's kingdom looks for opportunities to serve. In God's kingdom, the first shall be last and the last shall be first. (Luke 13:30)
A story I read the other day really blessed me. It was about a Pastor named Jay Voorhees who believes that one of the most important things he can do in his church is set up tables and chairs for church meetings, and mop the floors afterwards. The pastor of Antioch UMC in Antioch, TN has a heart for empowering laity to do ministry, and shares that the best way to do that is to take some of the grunt work on himself while giving laypeople a chance to shine by doing ministries that they are called by God to do.
"That's where the role of pastor as servant-leader is so important," he says. "Perhaps the most empowering thing we can do as servants of others is to take the most menial tasks upon ourselves so that others can experience the fun and glory."
This Pastor convicts me because my church family hardly allows me to do any grunt work myself. Even if I am carrying something across the campus, someone will come running to help me out or take what I am carrying altogether, and to be honest, it makes me feel very uncomfortable because I don't ever want to lose site of this biblical principal of how God's kingdom operates.
I never desired to become a preacher. I never desired the spotlight. Matter of fact, I used to not even be able to pray out loud in a prayer circle because I was so shy. This pastor thing sort of just happened for me. However, looking back, I believe that the way it happened for me was in my willingness to do the jobs around the church that no one else wanted to do, like taking a weed-wacker to the playground area around the church that was being overrun with weeds. I simply wanted to serve.
You might sum it up by saying the way to the top is through the bottom. It sounds like something Jesus would say. I have heard that a very well-known Pastor would tell anyone that told him that they wanted to get into ministry that the first thing they have to do is scrub toilets in the church bathrooms. I don't think that is a job anyone really wants to volunteer for. However, this Pastor wanted to show these people how God's kingdom operates.
We hear Jesus' parable about the wedding feast, where he tells his disciples not to be hasty to sit at the most important place at the table, '"for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.'" (Luke 14) And we see Jesus washing the feet of his disciples during Passover (John 13).
To grow closer to God and to be a bigger part of His Kingdom, we have got to remember it is not necessarily going to be found in the spotlight. More than likely, it is going to be found in the mop bucket.
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A friend of mine was telling me that he had a roommate that recently moved away. He also shared with me that he was hoping to move someone else in so that he could offset some of his costs for the condo.
I was thinking about what a nightmare it would be for my friend if he chose the wrong roommate. Your home is supposed to be your place of rest and peace, but can you imagine what it would turn into if you had someone living there that got on your nerves all the time, or worse than that, made you nervous to go to sleep at night out of fear what they may do to you in the middle of the night?
In Ephesians 4:27 it reads
“And do not give the devil an opportunity.”
The Greek word for opportunity is literally translated “a place”. This is significant to point out because I believe many people are offering the devil a room in their life without even being aware of it.
Look at the two previous verses.
Ephesians 4:25-26
Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another. BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
When we choose to lie to one another, we are not only breaking a commandment of God, we are actually giving the devil space to cause strongholds in our life. Lies can cause people to become trapped, out of fear that their lie is going to be uncovered. Being truthful with one another prevents that from happening. Besides, when we are truthful with one another, it gives us a good chance to practice acceptance. A big reason we lie to one another is because we are afraid of being rejected.
What about outbursts of anger? Can our anger really give the devil room to run amuck in our lives? Absolutely! There are many people serving life sentences in prison today because of their problem with anger. For example, in Las Vegas a few years ago, a man got angry with a woman who supposedly cut him off on the road. He was so angry that he followed her to a car wash she was going to. After she got out of her car, this man verbally assaulted her for her negligent driving. She proceeded to call her husband to tell him about this guy. Her husband showed up to the car wash and erupted with anger over this man getting ugly with his wife. The husband shoved the man in his anger. As the man fell back, he lost his balance and his head hit a propane tank. That man ended up dying because of the blow to his head. This husband, who came to his wife’s rescue, ended up going to prison. Anger gives room for the devil to wreck marriages, to devastate relations between parents and their kids, to cause someone to kill another person, and many other things that we don’t have time to mention.
The chapter goes on to talk about stealing and the use of words that are unwholesome. I think stealing is self-explanatory on how it gives room for the devil to mess things up in our lives. However, our words are a different story. People underestimate the power of the tongue. I know I have said things in the past that really messed stuff up in my marriage, in my family, and in my job. Have you ever heard the expression, “loose lips sink ships.”? Our mouths can open us up to all kinds of problems. Next time you are in a conversation with someone, ask yourself a question. What can I say to this person right now that will build them up? This is what edification means. It is the act of building. Are your words being used to build people up or tear them down?
It is hard enough to keep the devil off our back simply because we have chosen to follow Jesus, but we certainly shouldn’t help him out by offering him a room, with a Lazy Boy Chair, in our lives.
According to Paul, the author of Ephesians, the key to preventing the devil setting up a room in us is by making sure we are wearing our new self that God has provided us (v24). I look at this almost as if God gave us new clothes to wear when we got saved. By wearing the clothing He has given us, it helps us by causing us to remember who we are now. Lately, I have not been really for Christian clothing. I can think of all kinds of more effective ways to tell this world about Jesus, but maybe that is exactly what some people need to remind themselves of who they are now. Maybe the Christian shirt is more for the wearer than it is for the world. Some of you may need to go out and by a Christian t-shirt or put on a Christian bumper sticker. It is going to help you remember the new person you are. Whatever the method, you must come to a place where you can constantly remind yourself that God is real, that he lives in you, and that you are his kid. This week may you wear your new self that has been made in the likeness of God. By doing so, what you will be saying to the devil is….”Sorry, No Vacancy Here!” To receive my e-letter in your inbox, click here!
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| As we get ready to celebrate another Christmas, I want to share something that really spoke to me as I reexamined the shepherds experience in Luke chapter two. Most everyone is familiar with this passage of scripture. If you never read it yourself, I am sure you have seen it in a play or heard it told by someone else. In Luke, chapter two, beginning at verse eight, we read about some shepherds who were keeping watch over their flocks when suddenly an angel appeared to them and gave them the greatest message ever told to mankind. The message was that the savior had been born and the angel proceeded to give them the only invitation recorded in scripture to attend the event. I love our God. Out of all the people He could have invited to this miracle, He chose shepherds to be there. God entrusted the greatest message ever sent from heaven to a bunch of smelly shepherds. Actually, this isn't so unusual, is it? God has always worked wonders for the forgotten, for the despised, and for the lowly. He identifies with those who are rejected. The Shepherds help us see that God has a message for sinners just like us. Everyone matters to God. And this is shown by the only announcement of Christ's birth going out to a bunch of uneducated outcasts. What is also so amazing about this passage is that the shepherds give us the steps of what a person goes through when they get introduced to Christ. In this passage , there are five distinct steps that the shepherds go through that are the same steps people go through to this day that get introduced to Christ. The first step is that the were aware of the message. As shepherds, they had a lot of time to contemplate life. Some of their greatest philosophical moments more than likely came at times when they were just hanging out in the field with some sheep. This is what happens to most of us when we sit still long enough. We begin to examine our life. When we begin to examine our life, we become much more aware of the brevity of life and the fragileness of life. These moments don't happen when we are busy running around normally. They happen when we pause long enough to hear our soul crying out for something more, something bigger, something eternal. For me, I got to pause long enough at the age of 19 to realize that I was really unhappy with the direction my life was headed, and because of that moment, I made a decision that changed everything. God's message to me that day was "I got a better way". Some of you reading this right now remember your moment of awareness of the message. Maybe you were sitting at a church service or attending a camp, or sitting in a hospital waiting room. We have to learn to stop and pause more in life. That is when we will become a lot more aware of the message He is trying to share with us. The second step in the process of conversion is seen in how the shepherds were in awe of the message. Listen how Luke describes their reaction. Luke 2:9 - "An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified." They were terrified. Another way of saying this is they were overwhelmed. This is exactly what happens to a person that becomes aware of the great message that God has for them in eternal life, in being forgiven of their sin, and having a chance at life brand new. It is overwhelming. God meets us where we are, but then he brings us to our knees. When God comes close to you, you will have the same kind of response. For me personally, I still get overwhelmed whenever I have close encounters with God. As I was praying this morning, I felt God come over me in such a way that I just had to lay on my face. Tears ran down my cheek as I felt God all around me. A lady came up to me after communion and said to me with tears in her eyes, "I physically saw a glow of what appeared to be the Holy Spirit around you." She went on to say, "I know I actually saw it with my eyes." Talk about being overwhelmed. Do I believe she saw something? Absolutely, because I could actually feel it. What about you? Are you experiencing "Awe" in your walk with Him. He is waiting to overwhelm you today if you will let Him. the third step in this process of conversion is the acceptance of the message. The shepherds not only got to experience angels ministering and singing to them, they responded to it by leaving their field and going to where their Savior was. They put their jobs on the line by doing this. This would have been huge for them because it was all they knew how to do, but it didn't matter. They put it all on the line because they saw Jesus as more important than anything else they were doing. Jesus said that if anyone wishes to follow Him that they must take up their cross. In other words, Jesus said the only way you can be my disciple is that you put everything else in your life after Him. His message was ,"Die to yourself, so that I can live through you." (Galatians 2:20) Is Jesus really more important than everything else in your life? More than your spouse? More than your kids? More than your job? More than your life itself? The fourth step the shepherds show us in this conversion experience is the announcement to others what has happened to you personally because of the message. The shepherds were so excited about what they got to witness that they shared it with anyone that would listen. When you have truly experienced the power of God through being forgiven and receiving the Holy Spirit, you will not be able to contain it. You will be sharing it with others. We may not all share it the same way, but if you have been touched by God, you are going to talk about it with others. Maybe the reason we aren't sharing the message with others isn't because we don't know what to say, it may be more that we don't have anything worth sharing. Let's face it. Most Americans know about Jesus and about salvation. I believe the missing ingredient is hearing from folks that are continuously experiencing God and getting so excited about it that they have to share it or they will spontaneously combust. Sharing the gospel with others should not be taught as a formula or a method, but it should be something we do out of being overwhelmed personally by our first hand experience with God. If you haven't been sharing the news of Jesus with others, don't beat yourself up. Simply be determined to connect with Him in such a way that you won't be able to contain it. The last step of this conversion process is found in verse twenty. Luke 2:20 - The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them. How can you tell if someone has truly been with the Savior, they will want to adore God. They will want to praise God for all that He has shown them. Glorifying God should be part of a daily routine for us as believers. Not everyone is comfortable with singing and thank goodness because not everyone has been gifted with good singing voices. There are many ways to glorify God. Singing to Him is just one of the ways that we can glorify God. Being obedient to His Word is another way to glorify God. Using our bodies to accomplish His will on earth as it is in heaven is another way to glorify Him. Have you let God know today how much you adore Him? How much you appreciate Him in what He has given you through His son Jesus? The more we magnify God in our life, the smaller our problems will become. The more we glorify God with our lives, the more aware we will be of His presence in our life. If you haven't already today, take a moment to glorify and adore your Savior. We can learn a lot from these shepherds. How is the message moving you? Have a wonderful Christmas and remember that wise men still seek Him.
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| If you know me well, you know that I am somewhat of a germ freak. I wash my hands regularly and normally carry a bottle of hand sanitizer in my pocket. Clean hands mean less exposure to sickness. It is a proven fact that those who wash their hands three or four times a day are a lot less likely to get sick. In Mark Chapter 7, the Pharisees were bad mouthing Jesus' disciples because they were not properly washing their hands before they ate. It may sound like they were a little germaphobic, but to them, hand washing was a spiritual experience. The Jews were required to cleanse themselves and their utensils so that they would ensure that they did not accidentally take in anything that was unclean. They called these practices "traditions of the elders." In hearing them rebuke His disciples, Jesus turned the table around on them and exposed something in the traditions that were not very glorifying to God. He used the example of how they manipulated God's law so that they would not have to help their parents out when they became elderly, yet God's law said to honor your father or mother. (This is a rhema for someone reading this right now. God is ordering you to take care of your aging parents. This is what He means by honoring them.) Jesus called them out on this and said, "you guys are hypocrites." He showed them the real problem wasn't with the dirt on their hands as much as it was the problem of having dirt on their hearts. We use our hands to bring things to us, but our heart is what we use to give things out. Jesus was telling them you are more concerned with your appearance than you are with the yuck in your heart. I am so glad Jesus was only referring to them when He said that and not to us. We don't have such ceremonies in our relationship with Christ, but I believe if we are not careful we too can become guilty of concentrating on the wrong things and neglect putting emphasis on the right things. For instance, we want to go to church so everyone will see us and know we are doing well with God, but we then use our tongue to chew out the fast food cashier because they forgot our taco. Did I just step on someone's toes? We make sure that we volunteer for a ministry and let everyone know what a martyr we are for giving our time for God and for others, but then we get done volunteering and go and call a bunch of people and gossip about the other people we just volunteered with. These same individuals are condemning others for not coming to church or not volunteering. Jesus would say to them, your heart is way more important than your hand. Have you taken inventory with what has come out of you this week? I think of another thing Jesus said in the Gospels. Matt 12:34 (NASV) - For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. We can all get turned around on this and begin focusing on how we look to each other more than we do on how we look to God. If you are finding that some of the duties you are doing are more for your appearance than they are for really glorifying God, then it is time to pull back and get yourself out of the rut. Ask the Lord to refresh your heart just like David did in Psalms 51. After David got exposed by Nathan the prophet about his sin with Bathsheba, he writes this Psalm that is so honest and refreshing and notice what he says in verse 10. Psalm 51:10 (NLT) - Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. David realized that he may have been going through the motions as a King of a righteous nation, but somehow he got lost along the way and his hand stayed the course, but his heart had wandered away. Don't wait for the Bathsheba experiences to come to you before you deal with it. Use this e-letter as a wake up call to check your heart out. You may just realize that it is time for a "change of heart". Love Him More Than Life Itself! Jim
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