First In Our Lives

Read: Psalm 32:1-5

Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties. —Psalm 139:23

Actor Sylvester Stallone is applauded for his strongman movie roles as Rocky and Rambo. But what is he really like in his personal life? During an interview he honestly admitted, "If I were watching a home movie of my life, I would shake my head in despair and wonderment. It's a comedy of errors."

Suppose a movie were made of your life or mine. Would it reveal not only errors and poor choices but also a sinful person who doesn't even act like a follower of Christ? Would we be ashamed of some scenes? Would we be motivated, as Stallone says he was, to shift our values and start paying attention to "relationships . . . and putting someone else first"?

Jesus wants to be the "someone else" in our lives whom we put first (Matthew 6:24,33). But how do we do that? It starts with confession of any sin that is between us and Him, and then experiencing the Lord's cleansing and forgiveness (Psalm 32:5). Then we are gradually changed by Him through the work of the Holy Spirit and by the Word of God (Galatians 5:22-23; Hebrews 4:12). If we make our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ our first priority, He will make us into the kind of people He wants us to be (Philippians 2:3-8). —Vernon Grounds

Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray.
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from every sin and set me free. —Orr

The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to change the people of God.

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