But seek ye first the kingdom of God , and his righteousness ; and all these things shall be added unto you .
ized Christ is simply reminding us no one and nothing should be considered more important than He is to us , “ Thou shalt have no other gods before me . Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image , or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above , or that is in the earth beneath , or that is in the water under the earth . Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them , nor serve them : for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God , visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me .” ( Exodus 20:3-5 KJV ) He also has a Divine order in everything , “ But seek ye first the kingdom of God , and his righteousness ; and all these things shall be added unto you .” ( Matthew 6:33 KJV ) And if we ’ re tempted to think He will make an exception for us , we quickly get this reality check , “ For I am the LORD , I change not ” ( Malachi 3:6 KJV )
How then do we get the understanding we need in order to follow the path He wants us to take ? The Bible tells us , “ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom : and the knowledge of the holy is understanding .” ( Proverbs 9:10 KJV ) At times , we may need a self-examination on whether we fear God . In general , people don ’ t seem to fear God anymore . I marvel at the notion of not fearing the One who gives life and can take it away . When I was growing up ,
But seek ye first the kingdom of God , and his righteousness ; and all these things shall be added unto you .
— Matthew 6:33
I remember God being portrayed as an impersonal judge who condemned us for every transgression . Rarely , did I hear about his love for us or forgiveness of our sins .
Yet , when I look back over my life , I know , that I know , it was God and only God , who brought me through the most difficult and impossible situations with grace and compassion . Remembering that He was there for me then , reminds me He will be there as I face each of life ’ s challenges ahead . This isn ’ t something I can say about anything I can purchase or even a member of my family regardless of how much they love me .
If we as Christians want to be real with Christ , then we must examine whether Christ is in our Christmas celebration ? If His presence in our celebration is marginal , the question begs to be asked , “ Does Christ want and expect more from us as believers ?” With as much evidence as there is in the scriptures , it has become clear that He does .
With this in mind , what should believers who desire to put Christ first in their Christmas celebration do ? Since each person has their own vices and pagan practices , no one size fits all . Everyone ’ s shortcomings will differ and so will the answer .
None of us have the power on our own to do that which pleases God , “ Man ' s goings
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