Dear Precious Friends,
On this Fill Our Soul Sunday I pray you can take a few moments to take in this song... What a blessing and beautiful expression of our love for our Savior... and reminder of the importance of our worship time with Him and what matters. Many people miss out on receiving the blessings God has planned for them simply because of not putting Him first. This song is a great way to clear our minds before we take in His word, pray and start our day. I truly can't get enough of listening to it. What a beautiful expression of how we feel!
“Firsts” are important to God. Remember, in the First Commandment, God said, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). Clearly, He wants to be ahead of everything else in your life. He wants you to put Him before your church, your job, your money, your “things,” even your spouse and children. He wants to be your number one priority.
Not putting God first is like buttoning our coat incorrectly: if we get the first button wrong, all the others will be wrong. The good news is: when we get the first button right, all the others will line up, too. As we put God first, everything else in our life will begin to line up as well.
God has a wonderful benefits package prepared for all those who will put Him first. It is designed to cover all of our daily needs and keep you free from anxiety, as Jesus described in Matthew 6:25-33:
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Jesus isn’t saying that it is wrong to work for food, shelter and clothing; He just wants us to keep our priorities straight. He wants our hearts to be set on the spiritual (eternal) rather than on the physical (temporary). When we put His kingdom and eternal things first, God assures us that we will have the other things we need.
Everything we have comes from God. He created the heavens and the earth. He made us and breathed life into our lungs. He gave each of us time, treasure and talents to use while living on earth, and He will bless whatever we dedicate to Him.
The devil, however, does not want us to experience a blessed life. In fact, John 10:10 tells us that the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He will try to do whatever he can to keep us from using our time, treasures and talents first and foremost for God. But Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” If you and I truly want to live blessed lives, the devil cannot stop us!
It’s important for each of us to evaluate our priorities from time to time to avoid being distracted from putting God first. If we are not seeing God’s blessing in action, then it is especially important to consider what you are doing with your time, treasure and talents. If you are already putting God first, then this is simply an encouragement to keep it up!
God created everything – even time. Solomon made it very clear in the third chapter of Ecclesiastes that, from being born to dying, there is a time for everything.
The Apostle Paul wrote about our use of time in Ephesians 5:15-17. He said, “Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise , making the very most of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is” .
When was the last time we stopped and reflected on how we are using the time God has given us? Think about it: are we putting Him first with our time by spending it on things that honor Him?
1 Corinthians 12:18 tells us that, “God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.” He has given every person talents and abilities that should be used to honor Him and be a blessing to others.
Too often, we use our talents only for our own personal gratification, to make a living, or to impress others. It is good to ask ourselves, “Am I using my talents for the Lord? Am I doing what God wants me to do? Am I making a difference in the kingdom of God?”
Remember, life on earth is temporary. God has given us all we are and all we have – our time, treasure and talents – to invest for His kingdom and glory.
As we “seek first the kingdom of God” with our time, our treasure and our talents, we will experience the blessed life God has planned for us. We will see His power actively working in us, through us, and for us. His blessing will affect every area of our life including our marriage, our family, our relationships and our finances.
I just have to share this song with you. It has been such a great expression of what we want to say to the Lord and express ourselves with truth. Please PROMISE ME YOU WILL STOP AND TAKE THIS IN. HERE ARE THE WORDS AS YOU WORSHIP!
Verse 1
I'm caught up in Your presence
I just want to sit here at Your feet
I'm caught up in this holy moment
I never want to leave
Verse 2
Oh, I'm not here for blessings
Jesus, You don't owe me anything
More than anything that You can do
I just want You
Chorus
I'm sorry when I've just gone through the motions
I'm sorry when I just sang another song
Take me back to where we started
I open up my heart to You
I'm sorry when I've come with my agenda
I'm sorry when I forgot that You're enough
Take me back to where we started
I open up my heart to You
I just want You
Nothing else, nothing else
Nothing else will do
I just want You
Nothing else, nothing else
Nothing else will do
I just want You
Nothing else, nothing else
Nothing else will do
I just want You
Nothing else, nothing else, Jesus
Nothing else will do
I just want You
Nothing else, nothing else
Nothing else will do
I just want You
Nothing else, nothing else, Jesus
Nothing else will do
I'm coming back to where we started
I'm coming back to where we started
When I first felt Your love
You're all that matters, Jesus
You're all that matters
I'm coming back to what really matters
Just Your heart
I just want to bless Your heart, Jesus
