Living By Your Priorities

I don’t know how people live without a calendar. I often have so many appointments, meetings, things to do, babysitting, visiting people listed on it that I need more space to write on the page. If I don’t write it down, my memory cannot retain it all and things get missed or forgotten. Of course, there are some things which can be moved, like a doctor’s appointment. But if it has taken 2 months to get in to see this doctor… well I’m not shifting it and the catch up with the girlfriends will have to go.

Priorities.

That word and what it means designates what I consider doing first, or of most importance. It’s the same with my spiritual life. Have you thought about that or do you just live ad hoc? Ad hoc meaning I do what is needed at the time, but by no particular order or importance.

Jesus asks us to prioritize our lives.

Firstly, love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul and mind and secondly, love your neighbour as yourself. Everything in your life should come from these. What decisions you make, how you live, how you act, the choices you consider should firstly consider is this loving my God? Then is this loving my neighbour? Is this loving myself?

Do you try and have a prayer time – a time with Jesus every day? Do you make it a priority?

Jesus states it very clearly in the book of Matthew that we should prioritize certain things.

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Matthew 6:31-34 NRSV

Seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness. Why then after Jesus asks us to seek after Him and His kingdom living does He say, ‘Don’t worry about tomorrow. The Father knows you need things?’ Is it because living in this world there are different values, different things that are put as important compared to living in God’s Kingdom with His values?

Remember we live in the world but are not of the world. We can be drawn to things of this world – they appear very tempting – very enjoyable. But God knows that these things will fade away – that it is a hollow joy where we will not be truly fulfilled. For our eternal life offered to all of us we need to hold to the way of life that Jesus offers. This is where we will find true love, true contentment, true joy.

Trust Him for He speaks Truth. He is the Truth. He is the Way and the Life.  I can testify that it is only Jesus who gives us this. It is only finding this love within our God, the three members of Father, Son, and Spirit, that brings us true freedom. It is so hard to explain this freedom, this feeling of love, this knowing of this love, this self-sacrificing love of the Son given to us all. This alone, the sacrifice of His life for each of us on the Cross shows you how very special to God you are. We are His precious ones. He chases after all of us with His goodness.

May these jottings from my journal inspire you to believe in and fall in love with Christ- the hope of the world, as stated in Jeremiah 17:7, ‘Blessed is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord!’

Love

Rosemary

Every week groups of ladies meet together to chat about the things I raise in my weekly blog post and to chat about life in general. We call these ‘Heart Connect’ groups.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What are your current priorities?

Do your priorities align with Jesus’ teaching to love God and love your neighbour? What could you do to re-prioritise those things that don’t align?