PUT GOD FIRST—Or Don’t Go to BED!!

"I will not enter my house or get into my bed, I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob." (Psalm 132:3-5)  In this passage the Psalmist teaches us the supreme importance of putting God first.  This is such an important task that we should do it before we go to sleep.  Jesus stated men should “…seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…” (Matthew 6:33).  There are several areas of life that we must start putting God first, if we are going to be the people and nation God wants us to be.

God First in Marriage.  From the beginning of time it has been God’s will that one man and one woman be joined together for life.  “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).  Putting God first in marriage means that I love my mate supremely (Eph. 5:21-31).  It means that I not let anything come between our marriage.  To put God in marriage, I must let the Lord be the center of my home (Ps. 127:1-3).

God First in Morals.  If our country is ever going to be in good shape again, it will only be because Christians demanded high morals of themselves and their leaders.  The Bible says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).  Putting God in our morals means that we must get rid of sinful practices such as same-sex marriage (Rom. 1:18-28; Lev. 18:22), abortion (Prov. 6:16-19), and keeping God out of school and country (Deut. 6:6-10).

God First in Salvation.  A very important part of putting God first is listening only to what He says about salvation.  There are so many good people in this world who have been duped in to believing and obeying a false salvation.  The Bible clearly teaches for one to be saved he must hear God’s Word (Rom. 10:17), believe in Jesus Christ (Jn. 8:24), repent of sin (Lk. 13:3, 5), confess Jesus as God’s Son (Rom. 10:10) and be baptized in water for the forgiveness of one’s sins (Acts 2:38; Jn. 3:3-5; Mk. 16:16; Rom. 6:3-4; Acts 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:21).

Unless we start putting God at the forefront of our lives, there is no way we can be faithful to Him.  May we have the courage and determination to put God before anything else—even a good night’s sleep.  If you haven’t put God first, do so before you go to bed tonight.  If you would like to learn more about God’s Word and how to live acceptably before him, contact us at the McLish Avenue church of Christ (580) 223-3289.