October 7, 2013
Establishing Boundaries – Setting Priorities, Part 2
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33, ESV).
Friend to Friend
In my last GiG devotion, I invited you to sit by the seven pools at Wiamoku Falls in Maui. I mentioned that the seven waterfalls reminded me of my priorities and how I need to start at the top with my relationship with God for all the other areas to flow properly.
When I start at the top and allow God to fill me to the brim, His love flows down to my second priority – my husband. When that pool is full and in order, God’s love spills over to my third priority, then my fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh – just like seven waterfalls that spill from one to the other all the way down a mountain of tasks I have to do every day.
Interestingly, the first seven chapters in the book of John all mentioned water. Let’s look at the first chapter. John actually takes us back to another first chapter – Genesis chapter one. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
When we look at Genesis 1, where do we find Jesus? We find him “moving over the surface of the waters” (verse 2). Even in the beginning of time, Jesus had a strong connection with water.
Just as we have established the need to know Jesus Christ before we can flow in the other areas of our lives, John also establishes that we need to know Him as well. Verses 1-18 are like an overture to a symphony of Scripture. An overture in a symphony acts as a teaser, making the listener eager to hear more of the theme music as it’s played throughout the presentation. John’s explanation of who Jesus is sets the tone for the entire book. The first eighteen verses of John 1 stir my heart to want to know him more.
Later in the opening chapter of the Gospel of John, we come face-to-face with Jesus at the Jordan River in Bethany. His cousin, John the Baptist, was a remarkable young preacher who drew great crowds with a message of repentance of sin and preparation for the coming of the Messiah. He baptized believers as an outward symbol of their inward confession and repentance. Even though Jesus needed neither, because He is the sinless Son of God, John baptized Him in the Jordan as an act of obedience - Jesus obeying His Father and John the Baptist obeying His Messiah. Jesus’ emergence from the water signaled the beginning of His public ministry.
Baptism symbolizes identification with someone or something. Baptizing a person “in the name of” someone (Acts 8:16) indicates that the baptized person is closely bound to or has become the property of the one in whose name he was baptized.
As we sit by the first pool, considering our number one priority in life, we have to ask ourselves a few questions.
Have I identified myself with Jesus Christ?
Is my heart bound to His?
Have I given myself over to His Lordship in my life?
Oh, my precious sister, if you haven’t, I pray that you will get up from the water’s edge and stand under the first waterfall. Ask Jesus to save you, fill you, and use you. Let His love rain down on you, cleanse you, and make you new.
If you have not accepted Jesus as Your Lord and Savior, and would like to do that today, please pray the following:
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, I confess that I’m a sinner and that sin has separated me from You. I think You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for my sin. I’m asking now that Jesus Christ reside in my heart and become the Lord of my life. Your Word promises that if I confess with my mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead, I will be saved. Thank You, God, for saving me and making me Your child.
In Jesus’s Name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
If you prayed that prayer for the first time today, I’d love to know! Please click over to my facebook page, or email me privately at Sharon@sharonjaynes.com
I hope your relationship with God is your number one priority. If not, what do you need to do to change that and make it so?
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