Matthew 6:33 (NIV) says, "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." The key to living the abundant life God has for us is learning to make Him our first priority. Yet many people seek the "things" first, things like jobs, houses, cars or other material things. To seek means "to crave, pursue, to make sacrifices to get, to go after with all of your strength and all of your heart." It's a mistake to crave and pursue possessions, believing they will give us the lasting peace, joy and contentment that only come from God's presence in our lives. Take a moment and ask yourself, "What am I seeking? What do I spend most of my time thinking or talking about? How do I invest the majority of my energy?" These are important questions you need to answer from your heart.
We all have the same amount of time—24 hours a day, seven days a week. The longer I live, the more I discover that time is too valuable to waste, and we need to live on purpose, for a purpose. The truth is if you make wise decisions now, you will have a better future. But if you waste your time now, you will have regrets, and regrets are terrible because you can't go back and do anything about them. That's why we need to do the right thing when we have the opportunity to do it instead of blaming our circumstances or how we were raised or how the world is for the way we live. We can learn how to cooperate with God and make changes that will make something good happen in our lives.
No matter how long you may live, you'll never stop learning. Every minute of every day brings new opportunities to learn something we've never known before. And as long as we're open to receive, God will continue to teach us every day. I'm still learning, and I know I always will be. What God teaches me every day about love continues to change my life. I've come to the place where I can honestly say, "Lord, eliminate everything in my life that's holding me back. Please take away anything that's keeping me from walking in love and finding true fulfillment in my life." In other words: "Lord, reduce me to love—bring me to a state or condition of walking in love completely!"
I have made it a priority to study about love in the Word of God. Getting a revelation about how much God loves me and learning to receive His love has been life-changing for me. It's been the key to being able to really enjoy my life because when I received God's love, then I could love others. And I've discovered that the best wayâ°"the only wayâ°"you can have a happy, powerful life is to get your mind off yourself and do something for someone else. Helping people, being a blessing and adding value to other people's lives is what it means to walk in love and follow the example of Jesus.
