Martha

Seek Him First {Matthew 6}

12:00 AM


 Scripture Reading: Matthew 6

Setting priorities has not always been a strong area in my life; in fact, quite the opposite. I’ve been a "Martha", who longed to be a "Mary" (Luke 10:38-42), and have been known to take on too many "good things", forsaking the very best a time or two.

Matthew 6 is a portion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in which He lays out many great instructions for us to follow on giving, prayer, fasting, etc. but it’s verse 33 that I want us to focus on just now,

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God? It simply means putting Christ and the things of the Spirit first in our lives. It sounds easy enough, doesn’t it?

Each day, we are faced with choices; opportunities to invest our time and energy into, and some, although good things, may only be temporal things that have no eternal value.  Each of us has only so many hours in a day, and each of us, for the most part, have the opportunity to choose how we’ll spend those hours. The question then becomes, how many of those hours will we spend focusing on spiritual activities like reading God’s Word, prayer, teaching or serving others, etc.?

Are we focused on storing up treasures in heaven, or on worldly pleasures?

Just thinking about what you take hold of first thing in the morning could be a good indication.

We all have responsibilities regarding our family, work and other obligations and activities to tend to, and these can all be included in “seeking first the kingdom of God.” It all comes down to our free time. We need to be careful of what little time isn’t already spoken for, for I know often times I’ve taken on things that though they were good, they came at the expense of the spiritual tasks given to me. As a mom and teacher I found I was often asked to help out here and there, which ended up taking precious time away from my family, and even my own time with the Lord. And sometimes, I wouldn’t realize what I had done until damage had been done elsewhere.

Over time I’ve learned to seek Him and His ways of doing and being right, before committing to things that, though they were all good things, they just might not be meant for me to do. Seeking Him first for answers and reassurance has also helped with any guilt I may have felt declining a request for help as well. He has helped me stand firmer and know exactly what I should be doing and what I shouldn’t!



Deuteronomy

Priorities, What Are Yours? {Hebrews 11}

12:30 AM



Monday May 20

Hebrews 11

We all have priorities. Those things that are most important to us, our primary concerns. For some it may be family, career, or money. But as for Moses, his priority was to please God. The adopted son of an Egyptian princess, he had it all; fame, fortune, and power. But Moses refused to indulge in the trappings of his status instead, “choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God then to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.” (vs. 25-26)

I look at all Moses willingly and obediently let go of to follow God, and I can’t help but look at myself. On my list of priorities, where is God? Is He first? Is He at least in the top ten? If I’m honest, there are days when He doesn’t even make the cut. In Deuteronomy 6:5 Moses gives us the command, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” I want to love God that way. And that means making it a priority to not just fit Him in, but making Him first and foremost in my life. How do I do that? By being purposeful and intentional in nurturing my relationship with the Lord.


If I’m not intentional, as soon as my eyes pop open my thoughts run away to all I have to do. I get stressed about not being able to fit 36 hours of work into 24, and so I hop out of bed anxious to get the day started. By the time evening rolls around I’m tired, ready to sleep, and have let the day slip away without a second thought to God. But when I purposefully start and end each day in prayer, set time aside, (even if only for a few minutes), to be alone with Him, and spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word, my relationship with the Lord is nurtured, and my feet, thoughts, and heart stay focused and planted on the path He has laid before me.

Ezra Taft Benson said, “When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.”  Moses had it right. He made his obedience to God his first priority. He knew no earthly riches, nor anything this world offers could compare to the reward waiting for those who put their faith in the Lord. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:34) God has blessed, and continues to bless me in many ways. And although I count among my treasures my family and friends, my greatest treasure of all is my relationship with the Lord. Never has He failed to make me a priority, and in thankfulness I will make it my priority to love and please Him. Will you? 


Hiding God's Word in our Heart

Proverbs 21:21 ~ Priorities ~ His "to-do" list

12:00 AM

Saturday, May 18, 2019


Welcome to Scripture Saturday!
This coming week's memory verse is Proverbs 21:21...
Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor. (NLT)

As women, we all have to-do lists that include the many ways we take care of our family and our home. And those things are good! They are what God loves to see in us. But there are times when we put the completing of our to-do list items first. God has asked us to complete His to-do priority items first, making them our priorities…loving Him with all our heart, mind, and soul, walking in His ways, sharing His love with others and spending our days glorifying Him with our actions and our words.  As Augustine wrote, “Let the desire for glory be surpassed by the love of righteousness.” We should pursue godliness every day.

Reserve three blank lines at the top of your day’s to-do list (or every day this week). Write “love God will all my heart, mind and soul,” “walk and talk in ways that glorify Him,” and “share His love with others,” making these your priorities each day. (iWorship)

Have a blessed day and week everyone!

iWorship Bible

SoulSearching Sunday~Prioritize

12:00 AM

Sunday, June 24, 2018


Week Twenty-five

Welcome!  We pray that you have all had a precious time worshipping the Lord this morning!  Below you will find some thought provoking questions that will provide you a starting point to your journal writing to complete this week.  We hope that you will find this time soul satisfying!

Our reading this week was Proverbs 21 - 31...

 1. What are your priorities? How could you change your daily activities to align them with God’s priorities of godliness and love? Ask God to help you put first things first. Meditate on His promise that “life, godliness, and honor” will follow.

 Whoever pursues godliness and unfailing love will find life, godliness, and honor. (Proverbs 21:21)

 2. List things that you don’t understand about God. For which questions would you be able to find answers? Which questions require submission and trust? Humbly praise God for His unsearchable greatness and His mysterious and wonderful ways.

 Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down? Who holds the wind in His fists? Who wraps up the oceans in His cloak? Who has created the whole wide world? What is His name-and His Son’s name? Tell me if you know! Every Word of God proves true. He defends all who come to Him for protection. (Proverb 30:4-5)

 3. What people do you regularly encounter who could be described as poor and helpless? In what ways could you speak up for them? How do you feel when you consider the fact that service to others is service to God Himself?

 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those who are perishing. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. (Proverbs 31:8,9)


Becky Bramlett Austin

Jesus Displays His Authority {Mark 11}

1:11 AM

My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.


By Becky Bramlett Austin

This chapter begins the last week of the earthly ministry of Jesus. Up until now, Jesus has kept a low profile about being the Messiah. But this week is different. This week Jesus shows himself publicly with humility and yet with such authority and boldness. 

His Entrance on a Donkey: Jesus makes his appearance with humility as He rides in on a borrowed and unbroken young donkey. What a contrast to the grand military processions the people of Rome were used to seeing. Jesus doesn't ride in on a majestic war horse but He rides in on a donkey, often thought of as a symbol of peace, and he fulfills prophecy: Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9 Jesus came in with work to accomplish, and determined purposes to fulfill. But did he meet the expectations of what the people wanted in a Messiah? I can’t help but wonder what happened to the crowds who cheered him, shouting “Hosannah, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Were these same people in the crowds who days later would shout “Crucify him”?

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree and Clears the Temple:

I searched the commentaries for the significance of the cursed fig tree and found it quite interesting that Jesus entered the temple the night before. He didn’t do anything but he just observed what was going on. We can be comforted that God observes the evil going on in this world too, and will address it in his desired time. The next morning he seeks fruit from a fig plant that to all appearances should have been a fruit producing plant because of it’s thriving abundance of green leaves. Jesus was disappointed to find no fruit and then he cursed it. The fig tree was symbolic of the Jewish church and priesthood which should have been producing fruit but was not. As he returns from the temple, the disciples observe that the once abundant plant has drastically shriveled from the roots up. The Jewish temple and priesthood would undergo a similar fate. It is quite a serious thing when God has been displeased and removed his blessings because he finds no fruit. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” John 15:5 What a great lesson for the churches of America to heed as well. We enjoy so many religious freedoms. Our churches today should be able to produce fruit in abundance but only if we keep Jesus as our focal point.

We are familiar with the bold display of righteous anger Jesus displayed when he returned to the Temple to clear it from the corruption that he had observed and which broke his heart. “And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. (v 19). Again, a great lesson for the churches of America to be concerned about. Just what is the focus of our worship centers today? Have we strayed from the intent of God? Have we moved Him out of the picture? Have we put our own agendas into place? And what about our homes? Is God the center of our homes? Do we produce fruit in our homes? What would Jesus observe if he came to our home unannounced? Would he have to clean house? Would he find that his authority is honored in our homes? Hopefully, he would be pleased to find that our homes are a place of worship, a house of prayer, and produce abundant fruit because we abide in Him.