In Exodus 20:3, God gave a clear commandment to His people Israel, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (NKJV). To me this means we should not let any person or thing become a priority over our relationship with God. Jesus took the command further in quoting Deut 6:5, He told us that we are to love God with all our heart, soul and mind (Matt 22:37). We are to worship and serve only God (Matt 4:10) and to delight in and meditate on His word (Ps 1:2). Making God our head is a sacrificial process, humbly putting Him first in all that we are, do and think. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt 16:24-25; NKJV). As we give Christ our lives, we will find the kind of life that God has for us; an abundant, fulfilling life, serving as His ambassadors on this earth (John 10:10b, 2 Cor 5:20). Jesus said that if we love Him and obey His words then He and the Father will, “make Our home” with us (John 14:23; NKJV), Jesus lives in us (Rom 8:9-10). As we submit all of our plans, visions and aspirations to the Lord He will make sure they are in line with His will, therefore guaranteeing us success, peace and fulfillment (Prov 16:3). Lord, I lay my life down before You today, have Your way.

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph 4:29 and 32; NKJV). Everybody needs to feel loved and also, everybody needs to love. How do we show that love to others? It seems to me that it is largely by what we say and do. Verse 29 above deals with what we say and verse 32 with what we do. Looking at verse 29, what we say should “edify” others, in other words – build them up. Verse 29 in the Amplified Bible says that our speech should be “good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others.” Not only that but it should also “impart grace” to those we are talking to. What does that mean? The NLT translates that as, “be an encouragement”; the Amplified Bible, “be a blessing”; the NIV, “may benefit.” Let’s look for opportunities to be an encourager when we speak, to say something positive, that will make a person feel good about themselves. Now let’s look at verse 32. A quick summary of that verse tells us to be kind, compassionate and forgiving. If we can do those things we will be demonstrating the love of Jesus to others. (All these qualities are found in 1 Cor 13:4-7 along with several more). Of course, to speak and act in this way does not come naturally; however, with renewing our minds in the word and the help of the Holy Spirit we can grow in love, in these qualities, and then John 13:35 will become a reality, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (NLT).