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Over and over again, the Lord said to Israel: “I am the Lord your God.” Getting right with God means the Lord is your God. What does that mean? When something is your god, it comes first. When the Lord is your God, it means He comes first. He comes before all else. He is your highest priority. Abraham, take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love and go sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will show you. The Son of God said: Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Family is important, but God must come before family. God must come before our lifestyle, our desire to live the kind of life we want to live. God must come before career.

When the Lord is our God, our lives become a living and holy sacrifice. We give ourselves to God. We surrender our lives to Him. We submit ourselves to Him, His will and His ways.

“I am the Lord your God” means the Lord comes first in our love. We love Him completely, fully. We love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We love Him with everything we have and are. We hold nothing back. And if we do that, we have His wonderful promise: The eyes of the Lord search the whole Earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him (2 Chronicles 16).

When the Lord is our God, we are focused on Him. Psalm 123: Just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal, we keep looking to the Lord our God. We are thinking about the Lord, aware of Him, alert to Him, listening to His still small voice speaking to us. My sheep hear My voice.

When the Lord is our God, He becomes our greatest joy. Psalm 16: You alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. And Psalm 73: Whom have I in Heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on Earth.

Today, the Lord is inviting us to get right with Him, so that He truly is our God.

Lord, work in us so that You come first, so that You are our highest priority. Work in us so that we give ourselves completely to You and love You with everything we have and are. Help us be focused on You, aware of You, alert to You – constantly, continually, all the time. And may You be our greatest treasure, the source of our greatest joy.