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Jesus IS First

Here in America we emphasize equal rights and fairness. Nobody gets special privileges because of where or to whom they were born. Nobody gets to cut to the front of the line. If you get to pick first today, it’s only fair that I get to pick first tomorrow. It’s a level playing field for everybody, because nobody is better than or more privileged than anyone else. It’s a great system. 

The problem comes when we transfer this way of seeing to the Creator of the universe. We sing, “Jesus is my friend.” – And he is. We celebrate that “Jesus is the servant of all.” – And he is. But he is not our
equal. He is superior in every way. 

John makes that clear with the opening words of his gospel: “…and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Jesus may have been human like we are, but he is divine, like we will never be. 

Colossians 1:18 tries to tell us that Jesus is supreme and superior to us, but I’m not sure we get it. Paul says, “And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” What does that mean? 

It means he’s first. He’s privileged. If he were to reach an intersection at the same time we did, or after we did, he has the right of way. If we got to a doorway at the same time, we would not only let him go
first, we would bow down before him, take off our jackets and ask him to walk on them. 

Not very American. Not close to politically correct. But right, and true - because he IS superior to us in every way, and he earned our worship with his merits at the Cross. 

One reason New Song is a Jesus-First church is because Jesus really is first:
He was Mary’s firstborn son (Luke 2:7).
He is the firstborn among all brothers and sisters (Romans 8:29).
He is the firstborn over all creation (Colossians 1:15).
He is the firstborn among the dead (Colossians 1:18).
He is the firstborn from the dead (Revelation 1:5).
He is the first and the last (Revelation 1:17).
He is the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8).
He is the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:13).
He is the King of kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16).
Every knee in heaven, on earth, and under the earth will bow before him (Philippians 2:10). 

If that’s who he is for all eternity, then I think we ought to be treating him that way now. What
do you think? 

I ought to have no problem getting on my knees before him every morning. I ought to instinctively worship him, reverently defer to him, gratefully submit to him, perpetually yield my rights to him, purposefully align my agenda to his, and intentionally live the way he wants me to live. Because Jesus is first! So far above me that I don’t even dare say I’m a distant second. I am his creation, his son, his subject, his servant, his forgiven follower, and for reasons only fathomable in the halls of heaven, the object of his affection. 

Jesus is first because he is first. 

What does that mean to you, and how will that affect the way you live today?

The Radio, Television, and Facebook: How Technology is Competing with Spiritual Formation

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and I’ve love to hear your thoughts.

In 1917 the American Radio and Research Corporation began radio broadcasting and within a few years Americans were bent over little boxes almost every night of the week. Television came in the 1940’s, and within a decade our habits shifted from listening to speakers to watching screens for hours on end. Then Al Gore invented the internet, and soon AOL, then MySpace, then Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest began competing for our evenings.

A little more than a hundred years ago, the American frontier family huddled around candles at the kitchen table after dark. While mom and grandma sewed and mended, kids played quietly and dad read Scripture – out loud – for an hour or more each evening.

Romans 12:2 says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” For the later part of the 19^th century, the truths of Scripture seeped into American minds, reminding us of virtues like integrity, the importance of personal responsibility, the nobility of labor, and a thousand other healthy concepts.

In the mid-1800s, American church attendance and spirituality were at an all-time low. Not surprisingly, our economy was in the doldrums as well. In 1857, desperation led Jeremiah Lanphier and a few business friends to found a noontime prayer meeting in New York City. The practice spread throughout the city, then throughout the country. That’s when Bible-reading began to take hold of us as a nation.

For the next 50 years or so, Americans absorbed Scripture, renewing their minds and transforming their behavior. By the end of World War I, we had become the most prosperous and powerful nation on earth. Reading, studying, and hearing the Bible preached is fundamental to personal transformation.

The revivals of Wesley and Whitfield drove Englishmen to the Bible. Within a few generations, they were the most prosperous nation on earth. The revivals of 1857 and 1858 drove Americans to the Bible, and within a few generations we became the most prosperous nation on earth.

Today, everyone is busy. Doing what? I don’t know for sure, but I suspect it’s watching television, surfing the web, and posting on Facebook. Where once we were a nation of Bible-readers, we’ve become a nation of technology-consumers.

With the upcoming elections, everyone has an opinion on which candidate can help us more. I believe what will really help us is a Bible-reading revolution! What would happen to our country if we all began reading the Bible for a half hour a day? What would happen to you if you began letting Scripture, instead of Facebook, reshape your perspectives? What would happen to your family, if they thought more about God's thoughts and less about The Kardashians? What would happen to your neighborhood if people reset their standards by the Golden Rule instead of the rule of media?

Thomas Jefferson once said, ...the studious perusal of the sacred volume will make better homes, better citizens, better fathers and better husbands.

What do you think?

Getting into a Prayer Rut

In most areas of life, ruts are a bad thing. Drive your car over one and, ouch, there goes the alignment. Let your marriage get into one and you will be bored and dissatisfied. But when it comes to spiritual exercises, ruts can be a really good thing.

My favorite rut is my morning prayer. First thing every morning, I pray four things for myself, my family, my church and my staff. I pray for the salvation of five of my family members. I thank God for the new day and ask Him to use me to add value to each person I will be meeting with. (I use my calendar for that part.) I pray almost the same thing in almost the same words every morning. This rut has a cleansing effect on me. It draws me close to the Lord and drives His power into my life and concerns. On the rare days when I don’t practice this prayer rut, I feel like is missing all day long.

I have other things and people I pray for throughout the day, but this first prayer of the day is a no-brainer for me. Infrequently-practiced disciplines can be a chore. Routinely-practiced disciples become a joy.

What ruts are working for you?