Let the Lord Have First Place 6/28/09

1 Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around,

2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains."

2 Sam 7:1-2 (NKJV)

David realized that he was following the foolish dictates of his own heart by living in an extravagant house, while not letting the Lord have first place and preeminence. He was not making a special place for the Lord to reside in, which is important to the Lord. The Lord doesn't need any special place down here on earth, when he could just reside in heaven, but He chose to send His Son for us to die in our place, so that He could have a special place in our hearts.

William Wilberforce in the early years of his life, went regularly to clubs, (or nightclubs as we might call them now), in an effort to gamble and party away his life. God did not have a personal relationship with him and did not reside within his heart. Until William decided to start serving the Lord, he could never be used by Him. When he did turn his life around with the Lord's strength and became saved, his and other's lives were blessed by his changed heart. It is definitely true that we affect other's lives sometimes without even noticing we are doing so. Which is why we need to make sure that we are serving the Creator and doing expressly what he desires us to do.