“Always Put Jesus First”

Colossians 1:12-17

12) Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

13) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

14) In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

15) Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16) For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17) And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

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cripture very clearly informs us that the Lord is before all things and that all things have their being through Him. Therefore, we need to be admonished always to put Jesus first.

As men, we are conditioned by the world to think of ourselves as number one. Of necessity, if Jesus is in the Life of one who thinks like this, He must at least be second. This place is not one of authority and leadership.

By now, it should be quite evident that when Jesus is not number one in our lives, we will definitely face unnecessary problems. When we will not trust God, the responsibility for our lives fall back upon us. This is because we must be brought to the place where we will acknowledge that we are not capable of taking care of our own problems. Only by acknowledging this will we come to know to Whom to direct others for help.

When problems arise in our lives, the first person to seek, the first “place” to go is Jesus! Panic is not an appropriate response to difficult situations. The outcome of all panic is irrationality and irrational acts never bring about desired spiritual results. However, because of who we believe ourselves to be, it is easy for us to convince ourselves that we have the solution to all problems.

It is sad fact that though man finds over the years of his life that he can change nothing he still keeps trying. One would think that he would eventually get the “hint” to go to the Lord. The fact-of-the matter is that we do not rely on the Lord because we have been so deceived into believing that our lives revolve around us. We can “do” all; we can “fix” all.

We sometimes need to go back and examine things about ourselves to help us understand where we are and how far we need to go. Then, we will be helped toward putting Jesus first. For example, most people get saved because they do not want to go to hell, but too few subsequently change their focus. Unfortunately, the center of interest of many remains themselves. One can be saved from the inevitability of hell yet end up there simply by insisting upon following one’s own way.

The Lord does not insist that “always put (Him) first” because He is an egomaniac, but rather, He is attempting to save us from ourselves. That is, He knows that man is totally self-absorbed and the only way he can be saved from himself is to be taught to live for the glory and praise of another. Since He is that One, “…unto (Whom) be glory and honor forever and ever…,” it is important that we learn to worship Him and Him only.

All too often, we are distracted by issues with which the Lord never intended us to bother. Worrying about if we will have and how to get what we want and need is a trick of the devil. He skillfully plants doubt about the Lord’s ability to provide, when He has promised all needs to be met automatically.

Many things will fall into place for us when it is settled in us to be used by Jesus. Our walk will also be greatly aided by acknowledging and accepting that to be pleasing to Him, He must be our head.

There has never been a time, perhaps, when man has been as resistant to the dictates of God, as now. Too many insist upon their right to make decisions when our final decision was made upon accepting salvation. It is not up to us to decide how we want to be saved. Our only responsibility is to be saved—by whatever means necessary.

One who puts Jesus first will be more concerned with that with which the Lord wants to use him than what he is going through. As he goes through, he will be immeasurably strengthened and blessed by the knowledge that for everything that has or will come into his life, God has (had) a plan.

Why do things often happen to us for which we have no understanding? Because we are not given to know everything. Many things happen for the benefit of another. It is our job to get others to understand that there is no limit to what God can do. The only way we can accomplish this, is by acting on this premise, ourselves. We must stop telling people what we can’t do and what God hasn’t done and begin to accept our responsibility: to “always put Jesus first.”