Preeminence

Your word for the day: preeminence.  Meaning in the Greek: to have first place.

Many thoughts are fighting for preeminence in my mind and spirit right now...after a powerful time of worship and Word with my church family yesterday morning, followed by an evening prayer service that was full of the revelation of God and the Holy Spirit...it is difficult to discern exactly what should be shared in this moment or is to be shared later. But I will power through and share what I believe is an important wake-up call to all: Who is first in your life?

This morning, let our hearts be fixed on putting Jesus first in our lives.  Let's take time to openly examine ourselves and ask God to show us what we need to change in order to be purposeful about living our lives as followers of Christ.   Yes. I said change.  There are things that God will change and there are things we need to change.  The question is, are we serious about putting Him first? If so, then the thought of changes or changing something will be welcomed and willingly accepted. However, if the gate swings open to a place God wants us to go and we remain chained to the rock of self preeminence, we will not be able to go through the open gate.  

Late last week, in a moment of prayer as I was sitting in my car, preparing to head out to my next destination, my Heavenly Father dropped this in my spirit:  "this will be a year of changes."  I received this Word willingly and with a sense of anticipation since there are several specific areas of change that I have been diligently praying for...but after several days of praying and waiting, I sense that there are things that I need to change in order to be prepared for the changes God will bring.  There will be gates of opportunity that will swing wide open, of their own accord...in other words, I won't have to unlock the gate, or lift the latch, or reach for the handle, or push or pull...the gate will swing open...God will open the gate to the change but if I stay chained to the past, or chained to doing things my own way, or chained to self...the gate will open and I will remain bound. 

This posting may be just for me, there are many areas in my life that I need to be willing to change, but my sense is that we all need to allow God the break a few chains of change-resistant self preeminence to be freed to walk through the open gates.

As for me, I want to be prepared for change and the only certain way to be ready is to keep Jesus in first place in my life...that is the starting point that will insure a strong finish.  My prayer is that you will want the same and purpose to put Jesus first. 

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:9-18 NKJV)