Set Apart For God's

Do you know that there are some things God wants wholly set apart for himself? Yes, he wants the first of all of these; your time, affection, money, possessions, strength, efforts, passions, and dreams. Wow…That’s my whole life, you might say, and I would say, yes, you’re right! He wants to be first in the entirety of your life! We have often given our best to other things while God gets second-best or third or even lower. Listen to what God said to the Israelites through Joshua: 

But the LORD said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now, Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction. Joshua 7:10-12 NLT

Christians are often being pummeled by the devil when, in truth, it should be the other way around. Our power to defeat the enemy is directly related to how we position ourselves before God. Know this, God is God and does not need anything from us. His desire and purpose for wanting the first of everything in our life is not to get something from us but instead to give to us. The word of God says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

God does not need our money, time, or affection; instead, he uses those things as an avenue to open us up to all that he is! When we offer God our first and our very best, it is like hooking up a direct connection to heaven for its blessing to flow to us. God knows that he cannot give us all he wants to give us if he is not first in our hearts. But what we care about the most is made known by what we do with our money, time, and affections – those things are the accurate thermometer of our relationship with God.

Luke 12:34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Interestingly, this Scripture does not say, where your heart is, your treasure will also be, but where your treasure is, your heart will be also. Apostle James said it like this, “Come near to God, and he will come near to you.” James 4:8  Though God is always calling us to him, we must draw near to him for us to experience the nearness of his presence. A life that fully experiences the purpose of God will be a life that sacrifices the very first and best to God.

There is no greater life than the life of living with God in first place! Nothing in this world can match the intimacy and power that is made known to those who surrender all!

My dearest friend, maybe today is an opportune time for you to take an inventory of what is possessing the best of you and make sure the best and first of you is devoted to God! I challenge you today to let your first and best be… 

Set Apart For God