Dec 5

No Other Gods Before Me

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3

For most Christians, this scripture seems unnecessary. Surely we do not worship idols. However, a god is anything that we place on a pedestal in our lives. It is what we spend most of our time thinking about. It is what we worry about. This first commandment given to Moses was essential for God’s children to understand, and all the others hinge on it. The reality is if we can keep this commandment, we will be able to keep all the commandments. God needs to be first in our lives. When He is number one we will look forward to keeping the Sabbath. We would never think of taking His name in vain. Stealing, committing adultery, murder or coveting our neighbor’s possessions will be the furthest things from our minds because our minds will be so absorbed in Him. God needs to be our number one priority. When we are worried about our jobs, our bills, our children, we are placing them in front of God. When we put Him first, when we work our on relationship with Him, when we spend quality time with Him, all of life will fall into its proper place. We will be able to go forth in the confidence of God, knowing that He will work things out in our jobs; trusting that He will provide for us and take care of those bills; knowing that He loves our children far more than we ever could and He will never allow anything in their lives that will not be used to draw them to Himself. There is no question that we need to prioritize our lives, but be sure that God is in the number one spot in our hearts and we keep Him there. 

Father, I want no other God but You. Remove from my life anything that I would place in importance before You. Help me to prioritize my life in such a way that You always come out on top. I love You, Lord. Help me to be consumed by that love. Let it so fill my heart that I can never rest when I am away from You! Amen