-- Friday, 7/16/10 -- SEEK YE FIRST -- Judges 4:1-5

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J.R. & Bonnie Ricks

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Jul 15, 2010, 6:08:21 PM7/15/10

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Please note the weekly budget report at the end of today's devotional. Thanks now and in advance for those who are able to help this month!

God bless you all!

Bonnie & J.R.

SEEK YE FIRST -- Judges 4:1-5 NIV

After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the LORD. So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for help.

Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided.

Deborah was not power hungry. She sought only to serve God. And what did it get her? The top job in Israel. Because she sought God and His will first in her life, God made her the leader over all of Israel. And after God put her in charge, she didn't lose her focus. She kept right on seeking God first. And God left her in charge of Israel for forty years.

If everyone was like Deborah, Israel would not have gone through the "yo-yo" effect time and time again. If everyone kept their focus on God and His purpose, His word, His glory, the world would not be in the mess it's in today. But just look what happens. A man starts a ministry. In the beginning, his total focus is on God. His one and only desire is to serve God. So God begins to reward his efforts. The ministry begins to grow… and grow… and grow. Pretty soon, this man finds himself influencing thousands of people… and receiving thousands of dollars in return. He begins to enjoy the adulation. He begins to like having plenty of money to buy all the wonderful things the world has to offer. He begins to forget his focus. He begins to forget who is in charge. Many times, his life begins to reflect the absence of God. And sometimes, his theology does, too. Without naming names, you and I know a number of individuals who fit this mold. But we also know a number of individuals who do not. There are so many people whose ministries God has blessed. And because they continue to keep their focus on Him and His purposes, their ministries are thriving under His watchful guidance.

Why do many of us just never seem to learn? Why aren't all of us like Deborah? Why is it that when God blesses us and gives us a "yes" to our prayers, we tend to forget about God? We like getting the credit. We love the admiration of our peers. We thrive on the feelings of power and control. We love to wallow in luxury.

Learn from Deborah's example. Keep your focus on Jesus. Make serving Him your number one priority. Seek Him and His kingdom first… and let Him take care of the rest.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34 NIV

July Budget Report

Dogwood Ministries Monthly Budget: $1,500.00

Received as of 7/16/10: $300.00

Balance needed: $1,200.00

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God bless you all!

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