But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow: for tomorrrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

These are 2 of my favorite scriptures. I have a good friend who has been praying for me to get through my struggles, have my quiet time each day, and re-focus on God. So I’m starting here with some devotions.

Zeteo (pronounced dzay-teh’-o) is the Greek word meaning “to seek or strive after, endeavor, to desire.” We are told by Jesus to seek, strive after, and desire the kingdom of God first. Zeteo is a verb - it’s something we should be doing - when? FIRST! Not after we’ve taken care of the husband or kids. Not after we’ve taken a bubble bath and relaxed from the stresses of the day. We are to earnestly, honestly, whole-heartedly seek God’s kingdom before we do anything else. I must admit I fail on this often. I know the peace that God provides when you are seeking His will first, every day, and still, I fail.

The other word that I pulled out of the scriptures above is worry. One of my good friends and Pastor pointed out to me one time that sin is anything that comes between God and me. I’ll have to post his illustration of this here in a few days. Did you know that worry is a sin? Being worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy are all the opposite of what God wants for us. Worry disturbs our peace of mind. My sister-in-law told me this weekend that fear is misdirected attention. Fear and worry go together with that. If you focus on worldly things - material things - you will fear and have worries. If you focus on God, His greatness, and His love for you, then you will have peace inside while the world goes crazy around you.

So, I’m sending up a little prayer for you and for me - that we will actively seek God’s kingdom first; that we will have the peace inside us that He wants to give; and that we will know, without a doubt, His love for us shown through Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.