SEEK GOD FIRST SEEK GOD FIRST
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” INSIGHT -To seek... SEEK GOD FIRST

Matthew 6:33

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

INSIGHT

-To seek means to crave, pursue, desire to achieve or acquire, and go after with everything that you have. Each one has been entrusted with different gifts and talents to enable us coexist and walk with others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. Romans 12:6-8 reveals that, “If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Each one should then know their gifts and work on it while seeking God’s help. All these gifts are rooted in ministration to one another. True success then comes by helping others. True gratification is achieved when others succeed and give glory to God. Some care too much about themselves and their own happiness and forget the beauty of life. Life become beautiful when one puts a smile on another person’s face. This is love. God is love and He calls us to love Him and one another as ourselves. Love is powerful and can be expressed by empower one another in whatever possible way. Love manifests the kingdom of God within us. The parable of the Good Samaritan demonstrates love. When the priest and the Levite passed the half dead man without showing mercy, he showed compassion and great love (Luke 10:25-37). Another parable is told of a rich man and Lazarus. The rich man failed to take care of Lazarus and was condemned to eternal suffering (Luke 16:19-31). Further, from Matthew 25:31-40, we see that those who administer love to strangers by give food and clothing to the poor, visit the sick and those in prison are also called righteous. Also, from the book of Psalms 112:9 we see that, “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted with honor.” Here; the one who helps the poor is labelled as righteous. Life is not only about the interests of oneself, but it should be focused on empowering others for the glory of God. This is the main essence of seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Let us ask the Lord to help and empower one another that we may achieve our destinies here on earth and in heaven. God has called us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and He will grant us all other things. This year, let us not only aspire to make a living; but let us also aspire to support one another and make a difference, for the advancement of God’s kingdom.

PRAYER

Lord Your are merciful and Your mercies endures forever. Lord You are good and Your mercies endures forever. Lord You are loving and Your love is everlasting. Lord You are righteous and Your righteousness transcends to all generations. Thank You Jesus for loving us. Thank You for dying on the cross for our salvation. Forgive us all our sins and wash us with Your precious blood. We trust in Your merciful love Jesus. Our hearts rejoice in Your salvation. We sing to You Lord, because You have dealt bountifully with us. Help us to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, and all other things. Give us hearts of compassion like the good Samaritan that we may not fail to help those in need for the glory of Your name. Direct us in our gifts and talents that we may uplift one another with love. Help us to love You Lord and to love one another as ourselves. Help us to seek You deeply that we may find You. Help us to achieve our destinies here on earth and in heaven. Help us to store up our treasures in heaven where there is no moth nor rust, and thieves cannot access. Help us to accomplish all that You called us to do for the glory of Your name. All glory, honor, power and praise belongs to You Jesus, now and forever. Amen

 

 

Jeremiah 29:13

“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

INSIGHT

-Sometimes life can get busy and overwhelming. One may follow a routine set up that somehow dictates their way of life. Waking up early and rushing to work through the busy streets, probably taking the kids to school, preparing presentations and getting into meetings, planning ahead and a lot more stuff to do. Life can somehow be overwhelming. Jesus told a parable of the great banquet in Luke 14:15-24. A certain man prepared a great banquet and invited many guests. Those who were invited were too busy to attend. One said that he had just bought land and had to see it. Another said that he had bought five oxen and had to test them. The other said that he had just gotten married and could not come. The master was angry and ordered his servant to go into the streets and invite the poor, maimed, lame and blind who willingly attended. The master then told his servants that, “not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet”. According to the parable, sometimes we can be too busy for God. Life is about balance, let us not forget God by putting Him on the shelf and only seek Him when we are in trouble. Proverbs 8:17 says that, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.” Let us always remember to pray and praise, read and study the word, attend spiritual meetings even if they are online, listen to and read various books and teachings for spiritual nourishment and get closer to God everyday. We are called to seek God and we will find Him, by searching Him with all our hearts. Let us not toil to feel or be seen busy but let us work to be fruitful. The objective of work is fruitfulness. We then realize that we cannot be fruitful without God. Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches, let us abide in Him and we will bear much fruit.

PRAYER

Our Father and our God, we thank You for we have seen this new day in perfect peace. We acknowledge that there is no other God but You. All other gods are idols but only You are Lord deserve all glory and praise. Only You are able, only You are Mighty. We praise You are exult Your holy name. We come to You Jesus humbly asking You to protect us from us evil and cover us with Your precious blood. Preserve us Jesus and cover us with Your hedge of fire together with our families and all that we have. We know that You have great plans for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and future. Thank You Jesus for loving us, we love You. Remember all those who are sick and suffering that You may heal them and restore them. Be with all those who are bereaved and are mourning the loss of their loved ones. Remembers all the street families that You may be their ever present help in times of need. Protect all our children as they go to school. Bless us all Lord and renew our strength. Renew our strength to pray and to worship You. Renew our strength to seek You with all our hearts. Teach us to remain in You Jesus, as You are in us. Teach us to abide in You as You abide in us. All glory, honor, authority, riches, wisdom, wealth and blessings belong to You Jesus, now and forever. Amen

 

 

2 Samuel 5:19

“So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

INSIGHT

-David enquired of the Lord before he went to war. Immediately after he was made king of Israel, the Philistines heard it and came to attack him full force. David sort the Lord first and did not assume he was going to obtain victory despite his previous successes. At some point the Lord gave him a winning strategy and promised to go out before him and strike the Philistine army (1 Samuel 5:23-24). David attributed his success to God and thus continued to conquer. Many of such great men and women as seen in the Bible sort the Lord first in all they planned to do. In all their missions they encountered the Lord for the glory of His name. God requires that we commit all our works to Him and He will establish our plans (Proverbs 16:3). God wants us to win this year and all the time, let us always remember to seek Him first and commit all our works to Him.

PRAYER

I will extol You Lord at all times; Your praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in You Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me and He delivered me from all my fears. Deliver us merciful father from all our fears and grant us victory. Look upon us with mercy Lord and deliver us from all our troubles. We are more than conquerors in You Jesus, go before us and make all the crooked paths straight; we humbly implore You. Only You are Holy, only You are worthy, only You are our Lord and King, fight for us in all things; for the battle belongs to You. Teach us to commit all our works into Your hands Jesus and You shall establish our plans. Teach us to follow Your will and we shall obtain a heart of wisdom. Our Father who art in heaven; hallowed be Your name; Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptations but deliver us from evil; for thine is the Kingdom the power and the glory; forever and ever. Amen

 

 

Proverbs 3:5-7

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.”

INSIGHT

-When king David gave instructions to his son Solomon regarding building of the temple and his kingship, he said to him, “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever” (1 Chronicles 28:9). According to the advise it is key to note that God searches the heart and its intensions. It is from the hearts that evil thoughts:- murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 15:19). It is therefore vital to guard our hearts because from out of it flows flows issues of life. Fear and worry comes from the hearts and for this reason God instructs us to trust in Him wholeheartedly.  To securely rely upon His wisdom, strength, power, might and goodness, grace, love and promises. God is Wonderful in wisdom and excellent in guidance (Isaiah 28:29). When we seek God first, we rely on His strength, wisdom and understanding, as we fear Him and depart from all evil. 

PRAYER

Blessed are You Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours O Lord, is all greatness, power, glory, victory and majesty. All that is in heaven and in earth is Yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might. In Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. Train our hearts dear Jesus to trust in You with all our hearts. Instill in us Your wisdom Lord that we may rely fully on Your counsel, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, grace, favor and love. Deliver us Jesus from all evil and cover us with Your precious blood. Train our hearts to fully rely on Jesus. Train our hearts to acknowledge You with all our hearts dear Jesus. Train our hearts to fear You Lord and to depart from  all evil. Train us dear Jesus to only do Your will. Train our hearts to submit to Your holy will. All our hope and trust is in You Jesus, we praise You and bless Your holy name. Amen

 

 

Matthew 10:38-39

“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

INSIGHT

-These scriptures demystify the importance of total commitment to God; to the point of death. Jesus Christ was committed to finish His course. He carried His cross by sacrificing His life for the sake of the sins of the world. It is therefore imperative that each one should know their purpose and follow the will of God as it is in heaven, even to the point of death.

SUMMARY

A water deer searches for water relentlessly. Its adoptive instinctive abilities makes it unique as it senses streams of water, as the psalmist in psalm 42:1-3 describes. The deer’s resilience gives it the endurance to survive both from its deadly prey and from starvation. When it pants for water, it is never destructed but finds it; despite the huddles that come its way. Once it finds water, the deer lives close by and inhabit the land mostly alongside rivers, where they are protected from sight by the tall reeds and rushes. They are also seen on mountains, swamps and grasslands. Seeking God first should then become everyone’s priority. Firstly, seeking God first means that you love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and your neighbor as Yourself. This is closely tied to the second principle; seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all other things will be added unto you. The kingdom of God which is within you and is founded on the law of love, because God is love. If you love yourself you should love your neighbor as yourself, and whatever you do not wish another to do to you; do not do to another. Love must be sincere and one should be devoted to one another in love, and honor one another above oneself. One must also hate what is evil and cling to what is good (Hebrews 12:9-10). It is love that makes us have a heart of compassion like the good Samaritan and remember those who are suffering and the less fortunate in the society. If we do not exhibit love for our neighbor, how can we then say that we love God? It is also paramount to know your purpose here on earth and to work on it as we seek the kingdom of God first and His righteousness, and all other things will be added unto you. As we do this, we should remember that those who give to the poor are considered righteous, and those who rely on the righteous One who is Christ and believe in Him; are also righteous. It is through faith that we have eternal life. Thirdly, we are called to seek God first which secures an intimate relationship with God. Like the water deer, let us seek God first and remain in Him as He is in us. It is through our busy schedules that we should set some time to pray, fast, praise God, read and study the word, read Christian books and blogs, listen to spiritual teachings and grow spiritually. Fourth, we should consult God first before we undertake a project and as we make decisions. Fifth, we are called to carry our crosses and follow Jesus Christ for he who looses his life for Jesus will gain it and he who gains it, will loose it. Lastly, we are reminded to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and rely on His wisdom. To also fear Him and depart from all evil. It is through keeping our faith strong in Christ that we endure all now and forever more. Amen

PRAYER

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, my God. My soul thirsts for You my God. My soul thirsts for You my living God. Fill us and all Your people with living water that we may never thirst again. Grant all Your people and nations the gift of salvation; dear Jesus. We do not know how to seek You first Lord, train our hearts and minds we humbly ask You. Train our children, families, friends, leaders, colleagues and all your people to seek You first Jesus. We do not know which way to go Jesus, lead us. We submit all to You Jesus, let us go where Your love leads us. Increase in us faith to come Your way even at the wake of uncertainties. You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast on You Lord, because they trust in You. Teach us to trust in You only Lord; with all our hearts. Help us to keep our faith and to trust in You forever Jesus. You are our Rock and Salvation, all our hope and trust is in You. Our souls yearn for You at night and our spirits longs for You in the morning Lord. Establish us in Your love and peace that we may never depart from You Holy Spirit. Help us to remain in You as You are in us. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forevermore. Amen

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