June 11, 2013 … First Things First!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 163

Passage of the Day #1: Haggai 1: 6a [Just how obedient are we living for God? ] [NLT] …  
6 You have planted much but harvested little. …  
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Contextual Study for today’s passage: Haggai, Chapter 1 [NLT] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passage #1: Luke 9: 23 [He said it. … Are we living it?] [NLT] …  
23 Then He said to the crowd, ...“If any of you wants to be My follower, you must put aside your selfish d, ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow Me."

  Reference Passage #2: 2nd Corinthians 13: 5-6 [Time for a check up from the neck up!] [NLT] …  
5 Examine yourselves to see if your faith is really genuine. Test yourselves. If you cannot tell that Jesus Christ is among you, it means you have failed the test. 6 I hope you recognize that we have passed the test and are approved by God.

My Journal for Today: If you’re reading along with me, how much do you remember or know about the Prophet Haggai, who became a Prophet in Jerusalem when the exiled remnant of God’s people were returned to Jerusalem by King Cyrus in order to rebuild God’s temple and live in their homeland. However, as you can read in Chapter 1 of Haggai’s journal, their priorities got out of whack; and they begin to live for themselves first and God second, not even thinking “my bad!” while they did it; and so God gave them a lesson in obedience and Godly priority setting.

Self inventory time, my friend (in the Spirit of following God and being tested in the faith (see the Reference passages above - Luke 9: 23 and 2nd Cor. 13: 5). Because that’s what God did in Haggai’s time, some nine centuries before Christ. However, God’s will is God’s will, whether it was in the time of Haggai and Zerubbabel, in the time of Christ, or today. God’s will is that we deny selfish desires as our priorities and as the wonderful old hymn (linked here) states, “… turn your eyes upon Jesus.”  ...  And so, dear one, it’s time to take God’s pop-quiz of faith.

Are we really setting our priorities within God’s will and turning our eyes on Jesus – FIRST; or are we living as the people in Haggai’s time, … living first for self in our lives? Because if we’re living first for ourselves, we can expect that God is going to intervene to help us turn our eyes back on Him – FIRST - and get our priorities in line with His.

My Prayer for Today … Oh, Lord, whatever it takes, help me see You first in my life! … Amen