First Place!

July 30, 2026

First Place!

Setting priorities is a challenge for some. Keeping priorities is a challenge for most.

I am a goal-oriented person who is able to remain clear about what is most important. However, there are still days and weeks and even seasons when I lack the focus and the clarity to keep my priorities clear.

+A disappointment can interrupt my focus.

+A heart-ache can de-rail my action plan.

+A loss can kick my priority to the side-line.

+An addiction can take my eyes off the goal.

+A relationship can steal my time away from work on God’s dream.

If I am going to chase after God’s dream for my life, I will need to set and keep the Holy Spirit’s priorities for my life and my dream. The most important priority in life is to keep my eyes on Jesus.

The words of a song written by Helen Howarth Lemmel in 1922 are a helpful reminder to keep our priorities straight. The refrain in the song “Turn Your Eyes To Jesus” are helpful. 

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.”

When we turn our eyes to Jesus, everything else begins to seem much less important. We are able to keep our heart, our mind, and our soul focused on what is most important. The most important thing is to know we are loved by Jesus so much that we are called children of God.

When we keep our eyes on Jesus a shift occurs in us.

+Our struggle with recurring sin, the fear that overwhelms our mind, and the sadness that breaks our heart seem a bit less difficult.

+The betrayal by our best friend, the injustice at work, and the lie told by a neighbor seem a bit less destructive.

+Our inability to keep growing our faith in Jesus, our continued failure to achieve our goal, and our disappointment in our growth seem a bit less devastating.

When we keep our eyes on Jesus a shift occurs in us; we seem to keep focused on Jesus’ priorities for our life and our goals for today. More to the point, we keep Jesus first.

In his letter to the church in Colossae, the Apostle Paul reminds the Christ-followers there to keep Jesus in first place. In Colossians 1:18 the Apostle Paul writes; “He (Jesus) is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.” We are called to put Jesus in first place in our lives and in the church!

However, there are some challenges. It is a challenge to keep our priorities clear when Jesus is not in first place. It is a challenge to keep harmony in the church when Jesus is not the head of the church. It is a challenge to grow into the likeness of Christ when other things keep pushing Jesus to a place of lesser importance.

Here is my paraphrase of Paul’s statement in Colossians 1:18. “Jesus is the first in the church. Jesus is the first in creation, Jesus is the first to be raised from the dead, Jesus is the first in everything.”

Take some time right now to be honest with yourself. Answer the question; “What or who is most important in my life today?” Try to write down your answer. Then, invite a friend to join you for coffee this week. Discuss with your friend your answer to the question as well as what you wish were different about your answer.

When our eyes and our heart and our life are turned to Jesus, we will know what is most important and our heart will fill with delight in Jesus.

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug