Living the God-First Life

By Stovall Weems

The devotional companion to Stovall Weems's book The God-First Life, will help you uncomplicate your life through understanding and implementing the principle of God-first living.

Everywhere you look there are how-to books for improving various areas of our lives such as finances, fitness, business, marriage, friendships, etc. The list can be exhausting! If we were to add up all the tips and methods, there would be hundreds of things to keep in mind just to make it through a single day. Often, in our search for ways to improve our lives, we mistake depth and discipleship for a long list of prescribed "spiritual-to-dos," and lose the simplicity of following Jesus in the moment.

But what if it is possible to boil it all down to one simple, un-complicated principle that would bring the solutions and wisdom we are looking for? It’s called living the God-first life--your life, God's way.

Every area of life brings different seasons of change, and one thing is for certain--we will always face challenges. True peace comes from living a life of faith that is grounded first and foremost in trust. Do we trust when God says He's got our backs? Can we let go of things we don't have the answers to and trust Him enough to simply follow? Can we follow him in the moment, no matter what baggage we carry and what spiritual milestones we've yet to conquer?

There's a much more vibrant way to live and act in faith, and it is much simpler than you would think.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Jan 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9780310324768

Stovall Weems

     

Book preview

SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM

As followers of Christ, we can set ourselves up to believe that we’re supposed to have the Christian life all locked down, and then when we don’t, our faith-walk hits a point of crisis.

Any Christian can — and probably will — face this. Sometimes we have questions and concerns and can’t get answers. I remember a time like that shortly after I started following Jesus. I was going deeper in my faith but facing difficult temptations, wrestling with tough questions, and not always finding the answers so easily in the Bible. I believed God had the answers, but I couldn’t seem to break through. It was a major struggle for me — until God reminded me of a verse I had read before.

It’s amazing how a few words at the right time can answer every question. For me those words came from Matthew 6:33: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. The verse is found in the Sermon on the Mount, right as Jesus tells us that God will take care of all our needs. And that’s when it hit me.

If I put God first, I’d have the answers I needed — or at least peace in the midst of unanswered questions. It was a game changer for me spiritually. Matthew 6:33 was like a compass for me, pointing the way. With it, I always knew the way forward, even if everything else in life didn’t make much sense at the moment. As a result, my walk with God became much more confident and assured, and other pieces of my life began to fall into place as well.

But what does it mean to seek God’s kingdom first? I answer that question in The God-First Life, but I want to add to that answer here. I’m hoping that in this forty-day devotional you will discover concrete ways to apply the foundational truths of The God-First Life. We will do this by taking a deeper look at the parables of Jesus and learning from the stories he shared with us.

WHAT IS THE KINGDOM?

When you read the Gospels, you find that while Jesus talked about the kingdom of God, there was never a single definition for it. Instead, he described it using comparisons and metaphors. "The kingdom is like this, he would say, or, The kingdom is like that."

For example, according to the parables of Jesus, the kingdom is like a pearl, like a field, like a mustard seed, like a lost coin, and like a lot of other things that don’t sound like a clear definition. Surrounded by a group of people, Jesus started making comparisons and telling stories instead of just providing definitions.

Why did he do that? It’s common to hear people say that Jesus taught with stories because we all learn better that way — but that’s only partly true. Some of the parables, such as the good Samaritan and the prodigal son, are great stories that have obvious lessons. But it may not be as easy to make such connections with some of the other parables that at first glance seem a little more vague. The truth is that Jesus is up to a lot more than just telling good stories.

Many people in Jesus’ day expected the Messiah to come and set up an earthly kingdom. If you remember the history, the Romans had come to Israel and were oppressing the Jews, God’s people. Surely he wouldn’t abandon them to these cruel Gentiles. The Jews of Jesus’ day expected God to come and wipe the Romans out. But they were missing something: Jesus wanted to save Romans as much as Jews. God loves the whole world, and his plan didn’t include an earthly kingdom that would free some people by killing others.

God’s plan was bigger than that by far. But how could he possibly get it across when so many people were stuck on this wrong way of thinking? That’s where the parables come in. What’s the kingdom like? Not what you think, answered Jesus. It’s more like . . .

A NEW WAY TO THINK AND LIVE

After Jesus told the story of the sower, the disciples came to him and asked why he used parables to teach the people. Because people learn better with stories, right?

Wrong. Jesus didn’t say anything like that. He actually used parables because he knew some people would understand his message and others might not. It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus said. But not so for everyone else; instead, they get colorful and sometimes confusing stories that they won’t understand (see Matthew 13:11 – 17). What Jesus is saying is that his parables are for people who already believe. The stories are for those with open ears to hear and willing hearts to receive. They are for the church — people like you and me.

Here’s what I mean. Jesus knew that he couldn’t just convince people of the truth with some sermons, even really good ones. You know what would convince the world? If his followers started living transformed lives based on the principles of this kingdom every day. That’s why Jesus told us to seek the kingdom first. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we pray that God’s kingdom would come. How does that happen? The kingdom comes in us as we put God first in our lives.

But if we are going to do that, Jesus couldn’t explain it all to us with a program or an agenda. It wasn’t about behavior modification or a list of what we should or should not do. He had to give us a new way of thinking, a new way of seeing the world. The parables have the power to reorient our expectations and priorities. If we meditate on them, they can ignite our imagination and transform our lives. We are going to do exactly that here.

THE NEXT FORTY DAYS

Living the God-First Life is a forty-day journey through the things Jesus said about the kingdom. To put this information into easy-to-follow rhythm, each day will focus on a passage to read, a point to ponder, a prayer to offer, and something to do. I hope to unpack the parables — the easy ones as well as the more challenging ones — in such a way that we can get one more angle each day on how to put the kingdom first in our lives.

On top of that, I want to focus on something else I talk about in The God-First Life. Jesus wants us to choose him. But once we have chosen, we don’t have to waste time or emotional energy re-choosing. I’m going to walk you through what it means to make a one-time decision to seek the kingdom and then how to manage that decision. We will break down that one big decision into seven other decisions that all represent different ways by which we can seek the kingdom:

Decision No. 1: I Live God-First by Worshipping

Decision No. 2: I Live God-First by Staying Devoted

Decision No. 3: I Live God-First by Being Filled with the Holy Spirit

Decision No. 4: I Live God-First by Connecting into Community in My Local Church

Decision No. 5: I Live God-First by Serving

Decision No. 6: I Live God-First by Being Generous

Decision No. 7: I Live God-First by Reaching Out to Others

Now, before we dive into meditations on these decisions, I think it is important to get our bearings. It doesn’t matter how long you have been living the God-first life — years or just days. There are some helpful things to know about our hearts at the start of the journey, and Jesus’ parables speak to these as well. We will start there.

PREPARATION FOR THE JOURNEY

These first five days are all about preparing for our journey together. They are all about getting our bearings. I want you to pay special attention to your heart and mind. How do you see your relationship with God right now?

Here’s what we’ll discover: God knows exactly where you are, and he values you more than you can ever fully know. Beyond that, you can grow in your relationship with him by cultivating your heart — removing the obstacles to growth and focusing on him above all else.

DAY 1

LOST AND FOUND

PASSAGE TO READ

The Lost Sheep, Luke 15:1 – 7.

POINT TO PONDER

Jesus said that he came to find and save the lost. What that looks like as we read the Bible is that Jesus was always interested in people, and I mean all kinds of people — including some we may not feel comfortable with.

In the culture of Jesus’ day there were certain kinds of people considered off-limits to the religious people: tax collectors, prostitutes, and other kinds of sinners. Just think of your