Christian Readers discussion

Put God First!- God, Family, Business... in that order. Put God first in your life and see what happens.- Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.-Matthew 6:33-DIVINE WORDS BY DIANE.

I heard David Wilkerson say something like this...

Don't make God first in your life... make Him EVERYTHING!

I have heard that this ranking is a Greek way of thinking. We separate our lives in various boxes, ranking them #1 God, #2 family, #3 business...
The Hebrew way of thinking is completely different. Life is not separated but everything is wrapped up in everything else.
Because God loves us, He puts us in families. Because we need to support families, we have to work. At work and in our families, we have the chance to proclaim and praise God. Everything may be seen in the light of God's love and nothing can be done without Him because He is the foundation on which we live.
In that way, I don't have to worry about whether I do enough for God, if my quiet time is sufficient, if I read enough Bible and so on. God is woven into every fibre of my life. It's very relaxing. I'll read the Bible and spend time in prayer not because I have to fulfill a sacred duty, but because I want to spend time with my creator and savior.

The NT was originally written in Greek...
...~27% of the NT was written by a Gentile (Dr. Luke).

Matthew 22:37-40

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Well said! I wasn't saying this should necessarily be the exact way. But sometimes we put family, work and other things before God until we need him. (only when trouble comes) Then it seem like then only then is when we really pray, study our Bible, fast or whatever we feel to get God's attention. God gives us family, jobs whatever we need to survive and thrive, we need to remember where our benefits comes from.-Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me.-Psalm 103:2

Robert wrote: "The NT was originally written in Greek...
...~27% of the NT was written by a Gentile (Dr. Luke)."

Yes, that's absolutely true. I just wanted to point out that sometimes we have trouble understanding the scriptures because our mindset is more based on Greek philosophy, which had a big influence in ancient Europe.
Of course God wants to be #1 in our lives, otherwise he wouldn't have given Moses the first commandment "I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods beside me."

Diane wrote: "Well said! I wasn't saying this should necessarily be the exact way. But sometimes we put family, work and other things before God until we need him. (only when trouble comes) Then it seem like the..."

Amen to that.

Annette wrote: "Yes, that's absolutely true. I just wanted to point out that sometimes we have trouble understanding the scriptures because our mindset is more based on Greek philosophy, which had a big influence in ancient Europe..."

My response: Indeed.

Unfortunately, I have seen this contrasted mindset (Hebrew vs. Greek) used to change clear Bible doctrines.

My conviction is that Jesus came to make us all ONE in Him...

Galatians 3:28 - "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS. "

Colossians 3:11 - "Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but CHRIST IS ALL, and in all. "

Ah, Robert, then I understand your reaction a lot better. That should never happen.
I believe Jesus meets every person individually, such as he or she needs it and can handle it. Unfortunately, people are less gracious and will often try to impress their own experiences on others - instead of simply giving testimony and respecting the other person's beliefs and experiences.

Annette wrote: "Ah, Robert, then I understand your reaction a lot better. That should never happen.
I believe Jesus meets every person individually, such as he or she needs it and can handle it. Unfortunately, pe..."

Amen.