Normally I wash and dry the bed linens and they go immediately back on the beds, but this week, with temperatures suddenly in the eighties, the flannel sheets had to go. Folding the king sized sheet set to put away means tackling the fitted sheet, corners first. Once you get the corners right, tucking the rest into a package-perfect rectangle is so much simpler.
Life with Jesus is simpler with a similar approach. The Ten Commandments begins with four directives concerning our relationship to God, followed by six addressing our relationships with each other. We cannot expect our relationships with one another to be manageable, much less fulfilling, if we neglect our most important relationship with our Creator.
”“You must not have any other god but me.“
Exodus 20:3 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/exo.20.3.NLT
”You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.“
Exodus 34:14 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/exo.34.14.NLT
The wind died down suddenly today and I kept noticing how much warmer it felt outside, though the temperatures remained the same. I felt thirsty more often and only water would satisfy. In Jesus’s conversation with a Samaritan woman by a well just outside of town, He asked for a drink in order to offer Himself as Living Water, and to teach us something about God.
”But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.
The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”“
John 4:23-24 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.4.23-24.NLT
God is looking for those who will worship Him. Worship is the only fitting response to almighty God. Worship places nothing and no one higher than or of greater priority than God, yet placing God foremost elevates every other relationship.
”Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father.
And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.“
1 John 2:6, 24-25 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1jn.2.6-25.NLT
”If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.
But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him.
That is how we know we are living in him.“
1 John 2:4-5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1jn.2.4-5.NLT
”Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.“
Galatians 5:25 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/gal.5.25.NLT
”“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’
These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.“
Matthew 6:31-33 NLT
A Fitting Reply 