Seek Ye First

Dear bloairy,

I have to say my life hasnt been easy. I wake up with worries...

"OMG, its another day. What will i eat? What am i gonna wear to work? Speaking of, i hate my job. My boss is so annoying. And my colleague(s).... Rolling my eyes... Not to mention the irritable customers/clients i have to deal with. As if my life isnt tough enough...oh gosh, i cannot deal..."

And then i remember that i have not prayed yet...

"...Good morning Jesus and thank You for the gift of life....'

AT NIGHTS... 

I go to bed with regrets...and more worries.

"... Now the day is over. I really should have put 'whatsherface' in her place. Well, next time... What will i wear tomorrow? I need to buy more clothes but i need money to do that. *sigh*... So 'whatsherface' is getting married and i am still here... Still Unhappily unmarried! I should have said yes to 'whatshisface'.... Oh gosh.. This is too much for me. If i were married, i would have done this and that, been here or there...."

 

This was totally unhealthy spiritually, physically, mentally. However i couldnt help myself. It was an inevitable routine i subjected myself to every single day. 

So recently i decided to seek Jesus' thoughts on my routine and this led me to 

Matthew 6:25-33

"Therefore i tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what will you wear....

...Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?...

...But Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well."

Kingdom, yea?

 I decided to search further. what is this Kingdom Christ spoke of... And i was surprised that i wasnt the only one curious about this mysterious Kingdom. Brother Nic was also curious in John 3: 1-8.

However bro Nic was a lucky chap because he had the opportunity to ask Jesus directly what this kingdom meant.

 The weird part is that bro Nic was a teacher yet he didnt understand the concept of 'the kingdom of God'. John 3:10 (so what was he teaching his students all those while. Good thing he snuck out in the night to get clarity from Jesus)

In John 3:10-11, Jesus pointed out the fact that there are two categories of people. The 'you people' (the category of people who have no knowledge nor understanding. i think i am included in this category: the Outsiders) and the 'WE'( the category of people who speak of things out of evident knowledge and understanding: the Insiders)

Being an insider seems so attractive and according to the Bible, becoming an insider is by living according to the rules of the kingdom. And one of the rules of the kingdom is in Matthew 5:25-33

Seek ye first- make the things of God priority over the things of the world and the good things of the world will be given to you.

Therefore in the spirit of seeking first the kingdom, i have decided to create an imaginary waste bin for all my worries. The next time i am plagued with worries, i will mentally dump them in this bin.

What will i eat tonight? ------>waste bin

My boss and his incessant trouble------------------->waste bin

My annoying colleagues and clients--------------------> waste bin

I cannot afford to buy all those fancy clothes and shoes--------> waste bin

Etc---------------> WASTE BIN!!!!!!!

#NoMoreWorries

Goodbye, Old things; Hello, New things!

Majesty,

Your Grace has found me just as i am, empty-handed but alive in Your Hands.

Majesty,

Forever i am changed by Your Love, in the presence of Your Majesty.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Its easy to say i am a new creation in Christ therefore old things have passed away and everything has become new. I used to be a professional at 'talking shop'.

What does it mean to be a new creation?

 I have always struggled with living righteously. Every time  i backslide i feel a great conviction in my heart (i am usually grateful for this because it assures me that i am not completely lost to the devil yet. Thank You Jesus!)

So each time i have this conviction, i say to myself:

"Sweetie, you cant do this no more. God isn't happy with this"

The truth is that i meant it when the words rolled out of my mouth. However the problem is i was simply talking shop. I failed to engage in any activity that aided my determination to stop sin. 

James 2:12

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.

I was naive to the glaring fact that as soon as i was determined to stop sinning, the local demon dialled the devil's number and reported this new development to his royal evilness.

1 Peter 5:8-9a

Be self controlled and alert, your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith....

So this time i got my relief from the aforementioned scripture; self control, alertness and serious resistance! 

SELF CONTROL:

Proverbs 29:11b

"...but a wise man keeps himself under control."

In order words, anyone without self control is a fool. (Lord Jesus, please have mercy) and the devil is attracted to fools because he is a fool.( i mean, He was the chief choirmaster but due to his folly he was expelled from Heaven. Foolishness of the highest order)

  

However anyone with self control has the fruit of the spirit.

Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and SELF-CONTROL.

Having the fruit of the Spirit means having the Spirit Himself by God's grace. And this grace brings Salvation(Freedom).

Titus 2:11-12

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'NO' to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age...

 Also

1 Peter 3:7

The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.

In order words, God's grace gives us self-control and we need self control in order to pray.

1 Peter 1:13

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed

This scripture delves us into the next action point-----------

ALERTNESS:

1 Peter 1:13a

"...prepare your minds for action..."

Jesus always stressed the importance of staying alert.

Luke 21:36

"Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen..."(SCARY SOMETHING)

Matthew 24:44

"So you also must be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."(that day wont be funny)

Even Apostle Paul said...

Ephesians 6:18b

'...be alert and always keep on praying...'

Being alert is nothing else but the soul running up and down, to and fro, busy everywhere. It is the heart engaged with diligent observation of what comes from within us, what comes from outside us and into us.

 It is important to be alert in order to effectively resist the devil--------

RESISTANCE:

The only way to deal with the Devil is to resist him. This is done by resisting the first stirring of temptation. Anyone who doesn't watch against temptation will certainly fall before the power of temptation.

James 4:7

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Temptation is not sin. Satan may tempt us by putting evil thoughts into our mind, but we can push them right out again with God's help. However it is important to understand that it is not possible to fight satan with your own strength. We need to draw power to resist sin from Jesus Christ daily. He effectively and effortlessly resisted the devil in Luke 4:1-13. Therefore it is necessary that we draw our strength from Him.

In conclusion, to become genuinely a new creation in Christ, it is important to be self-controlled, alert and resist satan by the Grace of God.

May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the sweet fellowship of the HolySpirit be with us now and forever, Amen.