Keep The First Things First!
First Things First by LaKisha M. Johnson
Exodus 20: 3 You shall have no other gods before me……………….
After three (3) years of being a widow, I have begun this dating process. I’ve tried off and on for the last year and a half (1 ½) but knew that I was really ready around January this year. Dating after being married for such a long time, was really interesting at first, but slowly I begun to get into the groove of it. Last night I went on this amazing date (and we have had several dope dates), but last night I could tell he had paid attention to details. We wound up going to one of my favorite restaurants, he had surprised me with flowers and then we took a walk on the river. I couldn’t have ended the day better than that. As I got up this morning to meditate on the daily devotional, God began to express to me His desire to be in a relationship with me, was no different than the person I am dating. His need for me to understand who He was in my life was equivalent to that of having a healthy relationship with this man I am dating.
I remember years ago I discovered the book, “The Five Love Languages”, this book written by Gary Chapman, provides us with the secrets to a love that lasts. Chapman states, “Unhappiness in marriage often has a simple root cause; we speak different languages. My primary love language is physical touch, my secondary is quality time, and they both rank high with each other. As I am meditating on this God through the Holy Spirit, began to express His desire to have an intimate relationship with Him. If we are going to be successful in our relationship with God, we have to begin to understand HIS love language. He said, “LaKisha I am no different than any man you date, I would require the same thing, Monogamy (Exodus 20:3), Loyalty (Exodus 20:5), Adoration (Deuteronomy 10:12), Love (Luke 10:27), Respect (John 14:15), Consistency (Matthew 6:33) Praise (Pslams 150: 1-6) and Reverence (Hebrews 12:28). He said LaKisha, people fail in their relationships with others because they don’t know how to have a successful relationship with me. Whenever they learn to have a successful relationship with me, I will become the model relationship for them to have with others.” But they have to learn to keep the first things first.
Prayer: Father we thank You for providing an example of a model relationship. Thank You for desiring to have a relationship with us. Thank You for reconciling us back to the throne. Holy Spirit show us, the areas in our lives, in which our relationship with God is lacking so that we can get it back on track and make sure that we keep the first thing first, which is God.
LaKisha M. Johnson is mom, author, motivational speaker, minister and teacher. She is the host of Coffee and Conversations on “facebook live” Monday-Friday at 5:00 am central standard time and Sundays at 7:00 am central standard time. She hosts a pajama party for women, “Pillow Talk” several times throughout the year, walking them through God inspired truths, while providing a place of vulnerability and transparency to talk. To find out more information on her log on to lakishamjohnson.com and follow her on social media @justbeinglmj.