Kingdom First!

Read:

Matthew‬ 6‬:25‬-34‬ (MSG‬)‬‬‬‬‬: “If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to Him than birds. Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen colour and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think He’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do His best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way He works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how He works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

Act:

Let us be determined this week to:

Steep our lives in God-reality, God-initiative and God-provisions. In 1 Corinthians 14:40 (KJV) we read, “Let all things be done decently and in order!” May we think about the order, the priority of things in our lives. Regardless of our busy schedules and long ‘to-do’ lists, may we steep, soak, and focus our attention on God and His Kingdom. May we not be so preoccupied with our lives that we miss God’s reality (that which God wants us to focus on and submit to Him), God’s initiatives (the plans and purpose He has for us) and God’s provision (the blessings we receive from our Lord). May we be grounded and strongly rooted in the One Who loves us unconditionally, the One Who is always with us, and the One Who truly wants the best for us! May we submit every detail of our lives to our Lord and always seek His Kingdom and His righteousness first (Matthew 6:33). And as we live, knowing that God loves us, directs us and provides for our every need, may we remember that every breath that we take comes from Him. What a blessing that we have the breath of Almighty God inside us – the breath of life… May we yield as we surrender everything to God – in the good and hard times. May we remember that God knows us each by name. He truly is a good, good Father who cares for us! May we allow Him to do a deep work in and through us! And may we grow stronger in our faith as we stand firm on His promises! Let us use ALL that we have and ALL that we are to praise His holy name, rest in His goodness, and share His gospel truth! Indeed, what a joy to join the Psalmist in Psalm 150:6 (NKJV) proclaiming, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!”

Pray:

Father, we thank You so much for Your love that will not let us go! We praise You that You are the One who lifts up our heads. You’re the One who carries us when we just don’t know how to keep going. Father, would You encourage Your people today and keep us looking up. Keep us on our knees before You. In Jesus’ name.

Our Heavenly Father, today we come to You in the precious name of Jesus Christ Your Son. We thank You for Your breath of life. We thank You that You have breathed Your breath into our being. You are breathing into every situation, every circumstance, every relationship, every bit of anxiety, fear and trouble… and even into the good areas of our lives. We thank You, our wonderful almighty Father, that You are with us, that You fill us with Your Holy Spirit, that we are led by the Holy Spirit. We thank You that in every storm You are with us. On every calm sea You accompany us. You are with us always, and You love us unconditionally. Thank You God, again, for Your breath of life. We love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, I pray this.

Father God, You are a good Father and we are Your beloved precious children. I thank You that You are more concerned with our character than You are with our comfort. It is Your desire that we become like Jesus. Help us to choose to yield to You, and to get to that place where You are enough, You truly are our all in all. I pray these things in Jesus’ name.

Lord, we thank You for today. Thank You that Your Scripture tells us that with You, nothing is impossible. We ask that You will help us to believe with all our hearts that You are the God of the impossible. Help us to believe that You can deliver us from physical and emotional ailments, and from lack; and that You can provide us with anything we ask according to Your will. We thank You for all of these things in Jesus’ mighty name.

Lord, help us to seek Your Kingdom first. We live in a world and a time where those around us are anxious and worried. We live at such a fast pace that we sometimes lose perspective. Thank You Lord that You call us back to nature. You call us back to the beautiful things You created and You ask us to breathe in, breathe out, and look at the flowers around us. You say that we are so much more than what we see: ‘Look at the birds, I love You so much more than them.’ Lord, help us to place our worries and anxieties at Your feet. Help us to reorder our lives, to start with You. Kingdom first in everything! Kingdom first in the way we do our finances; Kingdom first in the way we do our relationships; Kingdom first in the way we plan our calendar; Kingdom first in the way that we run our household. Whatever we do, Kingdom first! We know Lord that this starts with being in Your presence – being loved by You and loving You as the good, gracious and kind God that you are. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

(This WRAP is with great appreciation towards Elisabeth, Barbara-Mari, Carina, Lucinda and Gareth)

Subscribe to our Podcast Channel