Jesus The Centre

Matthew 6:21 –

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

When you wake up in the morning, what’s the first thing that you do? Do you scroll through social media? I do! 

Each weekday morning, my alarm is set for 5.25am so I can stagger downstairs, make myself a drink, spend some time with Jesus, maybe do a bit of admin and then have enough time to walk across the road to the gym. I’ll be honest, I have good days and bad days with this. I can tell you that if I click on that Instagram app I will waste at least 20mins on there and my time is all but gone. 

I definitely go through all or nothing phases - I’ll delete my social media apps, stop watching Netflix & Amazon Prime on my phone and ‘poof !‘ just like that, my distractions are gone. Those are my most productive weeks. Other times, I can spend ages scrolling through nonsense and realise that I haven’t really ticked anything off my to-do list for that day. 

It’s then that I realise that my priorities have become skewed. I’ve put my phone first and sometimes last (if I’m watching something in bed!!) It’s the memories of what I’ve seen on Instagram and Twitter that fill my thoughts and more worryingly, start to form my opinions. 

But I want Jesus to be my priority, to be my first and last thought. 

After the Israelites had been freed from slavery in Egypt, God gave them specific instructions on how to make camp. Certain tribes were told to camp on the north and south, others on the east and west. The centre of camp was reserved for the Tabernacle — a portable structure where the people gathered to worship the Lord. God was at the centre.

That is the way God wanted it then, and that is the way He wants it today. We are designed for the purpose of knowing Jesus Christ and making Him the centre of our lives. 

So how do we practically make Jesus the centre, the priority in our lives? I’ve found 5 ways that I think will be helpful. 

1 - Submission 

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” James 4.7

2 - Confession

“Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the same of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” Acts 2.38

3 - Prayer . 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” Philippians 4.6 

4 - Study

“Keep this Book of Law (the Bible) always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1.8

5 - Worship 

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and spiritual songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” Colossians 3.16 

Jesus, I want you to be at the centre of my life. Forgive me for when I have let other things come in the way of my relationship with you. I need you to invade into every area of my life. Even the things that are hard for me to surrender. Holy Spirit guide me and prompt me.