God Had a Plan Thoughts on Being First In the First Place

Often people like to begin stating their stance on a given issue with the phrase, “In the first place…” as though they have the final say on the matter. However, the first word spoken on a given matter is not necessarily the final say. After all is said and done, it turns out the dragonfly is not a dragon, but merely a fly.

Proverbs 18:17 The first to plead his case seems right,
Until another comes and examines him.

Have you noticed that when Jesus was tempted by the devil, it was the devil who spoke first after the forty days and forty nights of fasting in the wilderness? He even used scripture itself – the absolute truth of God – to try to dissuade Jesus from God’s perfect plan.

Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.

3 And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."

4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'"

5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,

6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,
'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU';
and
'ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP,
SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'"

7 Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'"

8 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory;

9 and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me."

10 Then Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'"

11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

Well, Satan may have had the first word in this instance, but he certainly didn’t have the final say. In every instance Jesus, knowing full well the will of the Father and being fully committed to it, gave the final answer, and that with absolute authority.

Be blessed today as you keep the Lord first in everything!

Job 42:1-2 Then Job answered the LORD and said, "I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

[ALL SCRIPTURES NASB]
***

God Had a Plan Thoughts on Being First The Beatitudes

On Being First, the Beatitudes

Have you ever read the beatitudes (which may be found in the fifth chapter of Matthew) with a “first… then…” perspective? What I mean by that, for example, is to read, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” like this, “First, be poor in spirit, then the kingdom of heaven will be yours.”

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted,” becomes something like, “First comes mourning, but then you shall be comforted.”

“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth,” becomes “First be gentle, then you shall inherit the earth.”

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied,” becomes “First hunger and thirst for righteousness, then you shall be satisfied.”

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy,” becomes, “First be merciful, then you shall receive mercy.”

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” becomes, “First be pure in heart, then you shall see God.”

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God,” becomes, “First be a peacemaker, then you shall be called a son of God.”

“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” becomes, “First comes persecution, then the kingdom of heaven is yours.”

“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you,” becomes, “First comes persecution, then comes rejoicing because you have great reward in heaven.”

Be blessed today as you keep the Lord first in everything!

Job 42:1-2 Then Job answered the LORD and said, "I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

[ALL SCRIPTURES NASB]
***

God had a Plan Thoughts on Being First Be Thankful

Lately I've realized that I've been forgetting something simple yet so important with the result that my attitude fails to reflect how very wonderful God is. Often I am distracted, busy and even annoyed. I can easily become resentful and self-pitying, and I really have forgotten to keep a thankful heart at all times. So, today, I'm asking Him to help me remember to thank Him FIRST and help me keep a thankful heart all throughout the day.

Psalm 95:2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3For the LORD is a great God
And a great King above all gods,

Psalm 100:4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 50:23 "He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who orders his way aright
I shall show the salvation of God."

Paul reminds us that we ought to be devoted to prayer with an attitude of thanksgiving...

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;

And even when we are presenting requests to God, it ought to begin with thanksgiving – after all, has He not already given us so much to be thankful for?

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

This is an article I submitted to the weekly FW challenge way back in ’05:

Thanksgiving, Mighty Weapon of Warfare!

We cannot be thankful to God and despise a neighbor at the same time.
We cannot be thankful to God and wallow in self-pity at the same time.
We cannot be thankful to God and curse in anger at the same time.
We cannot be thankful to God and vent resentment at the same time.
We cannot be thankful to God and harbor bitterness at the same time.
We cannot be thankful to God and give in to temptation at the same time.
We cannot be thankful to God and display envy at the same time.
We cannot be thankful to God and gossip at the same time.
We cannot be thankful to God and ridicule others at the same time.

The list could go on, but the point is, what a powerful weapon against the enemy we have! Even negative feelings like fear, hopelessness and anxiety are hard to hold on to when we maintain an attitude of thanksgiving.

Judah used this mighty weapon of warfare. The sons of Moab, the sons of Ammon, and the Meunites had all come together to make war against Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast, and all Judah gathered together to seek the Lord. The Lord told them through a prophet that the battle was His, not theirs, and not to fear, but to trust Him.

2 Chronicles 20:18 – 24
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 And the Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
20 And they rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God, and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.” 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” 22 And when they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed. 23 For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely, and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. 24 When Judah came to the lookout of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and no one had escaped.

Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting, indeed!

Job 42:1-2 Then Job answered the LORD and said, "I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

[ALL SCRIPTURES NASB]