"Jesus said to him, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.' But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." (Matthew 19:21,22) Sadly, this young man was unwilling to put God ahead of his wealth. He came to the best person to ask such a question, asked the right question, and received the right answer. But, failing to make the proper application, he came up short. What about you dear friend? What occupies first place in your life? Allow me to offer a few suggestions to help you put God in FIRST place-the only place He is willing to accept.

1. Spend daily time with your Bible. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6) God's wisdom is found only in His word. The more of His word we place in our hearts, the closer we draw to Him.
   
   
2. Pray every day. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6,7) Prayer is our means of communicating with our Father. We need to keep the prayer channel open so we can build trust and confidence in Him; lean on Him; and look to Him--not ourselves--for comfort, strength and guidance throughout life.
   
   
3. Be a doer of the word. "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." (James 1:22-25) Long ago, our Lord taught that there is no spiritual profit in hearing the word and not using it (Matthew 7:24-27). We need always to be practicing our Christianity.
   
   
4. Attend services faithfully and regularly. "I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go into the house of the LORD.'" (Psalm 122:1) One thing that will help us keep God in first place is being in the company of His children as often as possible. We gain strength, edification, and courage from being around God's people on a regular basis. Who understands better than another Christian the struggles of being a Christian?
   
   
5. Consider what the Lord would do. "For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps." (1 Peter 2:21) Our Lord left us a perfect example for committing our lives to God. Examine and learn from the examples Jesus showed mankind while He walked among us.
   
   

Dear reader, does the Lord occupy first place in your life? If not, you need to be making arrangements to place Him back at the top of your list of priorities. In order for you to win an eternal prize, He must have first place.