Daily Priorities Of Christian Living

Feature 1 – September 2019 — Grace & Truth Magazine

Daily Priorities of Christian Living

One wonders where to begin this important subject of priorities in the Christian life. It is not as simple as putting together a “to do” list of activities for each day. However, in another way it is not difficult to know what we should include in our daily lives in order to please the Lord and grow in our faith. These priorities are according to God’s Word, and they are important for us to know. Our priorities should fit with what God wants us to do.

First Things First
Christian priorities are meaningless for anyone who has not trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. In Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) we read: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Acts 4:10,12 says, “... By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth ... nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Finally, in Romans 10:9-10 we read: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” If you have not done so already, oh friend, please trust in Christ. Believe in His sacrifice on the cross for your sin and for your salvation, and you will become a Christian.

After you become a believer in Christ, the next step is to show publicly by being baptized that you are a believer. In the early Church, baptism was routine and often done shortly after a confession of faith in Christ. We read in Acts 2: “Those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (v.41). Then later we read: “But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized” (8:12). This pattern of faith in Christ first, then followed by baptism, was practiced throughout the book of Acts.

My friend, have you trusted in Christ as your Lord and Savior? If so, have you taken the step of proclaiming publicly in the waters of baptism that you are a follower of Him? If not, then do not delay any longer. The Lord will bless you for obeying His Word. Faith and baptism are very important priorities; in fact, they are the most important, marking the beginning of one’s Christian life.

God’s Word
We need to understand God’s will and ways. Growing spiritually and learning more about God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, are essential. This is where the Bible, the Word of God, is used by God to show us what pleases Him. If you do not have a Bible, make it a priority to get one. The Word of God has been translated into every major language in the world and many other lesser-known languages. Use what resources you have to get your own copy of the Bible and read it every day.

“Give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Tim. 4:13). “Blessed is the man ... [whose] delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:1-2). Not only should we read the Bible every day, we should also meditate on what we read. “To meditate” is to think about what the Holy Scriptures mean and how the Word applies to us and our circumstances.

It is recommended that we set aside a time each morning for reading God’s Word, then we can meditate on it during the day. If your schedule does not permit you to do this in the morning, then set aside another time. Even if you have to wait until right before going to sleep, it is needful to read and know the Word of God on a daily basis.

Prayer
In addition to hearing what God wants to tell us in His Word, we need to communicate back to Him in prayer. There are many examples in Scripture about prayer. David and Daniel in the Old Testament of the Bible were men of prayer. In Psalm 55:17 David wrote: “Evening and morning and at noon, I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.” Daniel, “in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem ... knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days” (Dan. 6:10).

David and Daniel give us a sound pattern of the priority of prayer in our everyday experience. Pray each day. Pray more than once. Set aside a time. Perhaps you can include prayer as part of your morning Bible reading time. Follow this by praying at the middle of the day and then praying before you go to sleep, committing all to the Lord. The Lord wants to hear our voices and to answer our prayers.

These two activities, reading God’s Word and prayer, are absolutely top priorities for the believer. With these we will grow spiritually and be fruitful for God’s glory. If we neglect these two priorities we will fail in our walk.

Meetings Of Christians
The early Christians gathered for fellowship regularly. We are not to live the Christian life by ourselves, but God has brought us into His family, and we are part of His Assembly. It is God’s desire that we gather together with other believers unto the name of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and recognize the Lord’s presence with us (see Heb. 10:19-25). Every believer should be part of a local expression of God’s Assembly on earth. These gatherings should have weekly meetings for the purpose of studying God’s Word together, enjoying fellowship to encourage one another, remembering the Lord Jesus in the breaking of bread, and praying together. The early believers “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42).

Being part of the local assembly, I should prioritize my time so I may attend the scheduled meetings. It is important to arrange my activities so that on the days of the week when there is a scheduled meeting, I make plans to be there. The Lord understands that we may miss a meeting because of illness or an unusual personal schedule conflict, but these should be exceptions, not the rule. It is such an encouragement to be with others of like precious faith, and the Lord uses these meetings to bless and help us along our Christian pathway. All the meetings are important, not just the breaking of bread. Sadly, some miss the time of prayer because it is held in the middle of the workweek and they do not give it a priority. May we recognize the importance of each meeting and prioritize it on our schedule.

Tasks
Publicly we need to make sure we are a good testimony to those around us. When alone, we still should be faithful in doing our part of expected tasks, whatever they may be. This applies when working a job, while at home and even when attending school.

We are ambassadors of Christ, and as His representatives how we behave in our daily responsibilities is important, whether seen by believers or unbelievers. First Corinthians 10:31 states, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him ... Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (Col. 3:17-23).

This means that if my day requires me to be at a job at a certain time, then I should be where I am expected and ready to work on time – not late. For example, if I am to begin working at 8:00 AM, then I need to plan my morning so I will have enough time to get to work and be there when my employer expects me. I should prioritize my morning schedule so this will happen each working day.

While at work I am to do my tasks as unto the Lord. Therefore, I should be reliable and not waste my employer’s time by showing up late or slacking at my job. While at work, I should do my best until the expected work time is ended. I have a wonderful opportunity to show forth Christ in the workplace. The same principle applies to those who have responsibilities in the home or at school. We should be diligent with our tasks, applying ourselves and doing what we do as unto the Lord.

A word of warning regarding the priority of work is in order here. We should be careful not to sacrifice the Lord’s things because we want to work more hours each day and earn more money. There is a danger of prioritizing work to the point that we sacrifice the Lord’s interests. Instead of working a normal day’s hours, we put in “extra time.” Before long, this becomes a habit. This would be a mistake and would not please the Lord. Other family members would suffer from our lack of being home.

If work is causing me to miss meeting with other Christians for prayer, for example, and this becomes a weekly experience, then I need to rethink how much I am working and ask the Lord to show me what would please Him more. Is missing the meetings with other Christians in the Lord’s will? The answer is found in Hebrews 10:24-25: “Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Perhaps I am at a job that demands long hours. If so, it may be the Lord’s will that I seek different employment that is less demanding of my time so I can meet with other Christians when they gather together. It may cost me a loss of income, but the Lord will bless in other ways.

Giving Of Our Time And Resources
The Lord wants us to grow spiritually, from being young in the faith to becoming mature. This growth began with our conversion – when we first trusted in Christ as our Lord and Savior – and continues for the rest of our lives. Our physical age does not matter, for whether 10 years old or 50 years old, we started out as young in the faith.

We began this journey of faith primarily as receivers. Like a little child, we needed spiritual milk to nourish us, but in time we grew able to eat spiritual meat. We receive this spiritual food from the Word of God, more mature Christians, and experiences that God places in our pathway. All of these things are used by God to mature us in the faith. In this transition from being young to mature, we move gradually from being primarily receivers to becoming primarily givers.

It should be a priority for us to seek to please the Lord in our daily activities. The Lord would press upon us to serve Him by doing good works. We read in Ephesians 2:10: “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” What a blessing it is to do what pleases the Lord.

Good works include helping others. This may require us to give of our time or physical resources. A good way to think about this is to ask ourselves if the Lord has brought something into our pathway for His purposes and glory. If so, we should be led by the Lord to be of help. We should not be motivated to do a good work for the purpose of receiving glory for ourselves. The Lord warned against this when He said, “When you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward” (Mt. 6:2).

When we finish the race of life and stand before our Lord we desire to hear His words of approval. In Matthew 25:23 we read of the Lord’s saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” How wonderful such a moment will be – if we are good and faithful.

Priorities May Change
As we grow in faith, the Lord may bring new things to our attention to which we should give priority. One example is that we are single and then become married. This new relationship would change some of our priorities. When a family comes along there are more changes and adjustments to be made. We would need to consider our spouse and family in what the Lord would have for all of us together.

Our places of employment, homes, assemblies and schools are our fields of service. They are where the Lord has placed us to live for Him. In these areas, doing good works may include a change of priorities in what we planned to do at a particular moment in time. For example, the woman in John 4, on the day she met the Lord Jesus, was intending to collect water from the well. After she believed in Him, Scripture says, “The woman then left her waterpot” (Jn. 4:28). She changed her priority from getting physical drinking water to going and telling others about the Lord’s spiritual living water that she had received for herself. Many from her city, to whom she spoke about the Lord, sought Him and became believers too. Of course she had the flexibility to do this, which may not always be what we face. However, sometimes our initial daily plans are changed to fulfill God’s desires in what He wants us to do.

Conclusion
As was stated at the beginning, this is not intended to be a “to do” list of priorities. Instead, we have reviewed a small portion of what needs to be considered as important in our daily lives. The desire is that our lives be lived for the glory of the Lord, whether married or single. We want to use our time wisely for the Lord and His interests. We should redeem the time rather than waste it, as Ephesians 5:16 says, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” If we keep these things in mind we will be fruitful and usable for the Lord. May it be so for each of us!

By Bill Kulkens

Christian baptism is an ordinance, or rite, unique to Christianity. The doctrinal significance of Christian baptism is given to us in Romans 6:3-5. In baptism someone who has received the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is identified with Him and His death for us. Being immersed in water (the scriptural way to perform baptism) is a going into the “likeness of His death” (NKJV). In effect, the one baptized acknowledges that he, the sinner, deserved to die. In figure he puts himself in the place of death, where Christ actually went, thereby confessing his faith in Christ’s death for his sins. Coming up out of the water is a picture of resurrection, in which the one baptized symbolically says that he has become a new creation in Christ. His old life is past and he wants to walk in newness of life. Baptism does not save a person. It does not wash away his sins or impart new life to him. Rather, it symbolizes that the person baptized is identifying with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. He wants to live a new life, pleasing to God. He wants now to live in newness of life – no longer as a slave to sin, but as one alive from the dead. According to 1 Peter 3:21, baptism is the answer of a good conscience toward God; it is not the removal of the filth of the flesh. Galatians 3:27 says that “as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”— Eugene P. Vedder, Jr. , from “Christian Baptism,” Grace & Truth Magazine, April 2017