WorshipFULLWednesday...First

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

~Matthew 6:33~

Every time this song comes on, I'm jamming~singing~feeling it. I want to be the kind of person who is seeking God first, making Him first, and keeping Him first in my life. Regrettably and understandably, I've been attacked at making this happen. 

Satan plays with my emotions and my desires. I'm not getting out of bed to do devotions because I'm falling into the trap that I need more sleep. Consequently, I run late to work--allowing no one-on-one time with God--and then my whole day feels out of control. This has got to STOP! I'm giving Satan a foothold, and he's giving me a downfall. But thankfully, I know even in the falling down, I can look up to my Heavenly Father. {Hallelujah!} My God is there to lift me up because He has made me first. Jesus' sacrifice is proof. The awesome thing is...He didn't just put me first, He put you first, too.

So, bring your heart to God. Make every effort to put Him first in your life. He will be faithful because He is faithful. And according to Matthew 6:33 He will give you everything you need.

I tell you what...I'm going to keep trying. I'm going to start by fighting those deceptive thoughts that are already attacking me before I get out of bed. I'm going to make time for God even if it means I don't get my makeup on before work or I have to skip my shower for the day {Eek! Lord, help me!} because I know my efforts will not be in vain. Will you join me? 

Okay, okay, still shower, but get up earlier and have some one-on-one time with God. Let's fight back. Let's not allow Satan to have any more hold on us. Let's make God first and in the process find ourselves in a much better position of being the kind of people we want to be.

"Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."

~Matthew 7:7-8~

Unfading Beauty

"Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. 

This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands."

1 Peter 3:3-5

My sister and I were talking the other night about beauty and the things we women set our minds on. We set our minds on the weight we've gained and the clothes that don't fit, the teeth that aren't gleaming white and have gone crooked even after years of having braces, the frizz in our hair or the frizz we call our hair, the unwanted wrinkles and zits on our faces, the double chins and the saggy-ness of places that we would prefer not to see sag.  We then try to cover-up these undesirable imperfections.  We spend time, money, and energy to beautify the fading beauty. We try desperately to hold on to something that God never intended for us to hold onto.

A voice said, "Shout!"

I asked, “What should I shout?”

“Shout that people are like the grass.

Their beauty fades as quickly

as the flowers in a field.

The grass withers and the flowers fade

beneath the breath of the Lord.

And so it is with people.

The grass withers and the flowers fade, 

but the word of our God stands forever.”

Isaiah 40:6-8

Outward beauty fades.  Inward beauty, however, doesn't.  Unfading beauty is within our hearts.  My sister said she needs to work on the beauty within before she can ever tackle the beauty on the outside.  So true.  When we begin working on the the unfading beauty of gentleness and peace (quietness), then we become beautiful from the inside out.  Less time, money, and energy will be spent. So how do we do this?  

We seek God.  We live intentionally for Him.  We make what matters to Him more important than what we think matters to the world.  We "set our minds on things above and not on earthly things" (Colossians 3:2), and we maintain the look of our hearts.  

The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 

1 Samuel 16:7

Don't let beauty fade.  Rather, maintain your inner beauty with the One who makes all things beautiful. God is so divinely good, and you are so precious to Him.