Ecclesiastes 4:12 // A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

It’s been said that birds of a feather will flock together. For most of our lives we’ve been told that our relationships, who we choose to fly through life with, will more often than not determine how high we can reach, and how far we can go. It’s true birds of a feather flock together and arrive together, so make sure you know where your flock is headed.

Well the same can apply to how effective we are at leading a God-first life. As believers, who we choose to align ourselves with in life is vital because the purpose and potential God desires us to fulfill is not something we can do alone. Two is always better than one, and God created us to be in a community full of people who are committed to pursuing Him together as the body of Christ.

So how do we determine who we should be connected to and aligned with?

One of the first ways of discovering this is finding people who are moving in the direction we want to go. People with similar values. People who are demonstrating the character of Christ.
When we understand that we tend to become the people we are the most intimate with, then taking the time to examine our relationships will be something we will no longer ignore.

It is important to remember that people are like elevators. Thev can either take us up, or they take us down. And if it seems that you are always down in life, perhaps it’s time to change the elevators you’ve been in. As believers, we have been called to be lifters, always seeking to add value to those in our circle. So if your circle is not adding value to you, be courageous enough to change it today.

When you change your circle, you will change your cycle.

Whenever God is ready to do something new in your life, He will often use people to do it. Begin to ask God to send you the right people in your life, and invite Him to also help make you the right person for someone else’s life. The best version of you may just be on the other side of a better relationship.

So if success always seems to be out of reach for you, remember that right alignments determine right assignments. If you will begin adjusting your relationships today, it will help establish a better tomorrow.

Day 11 of 21 Days of Prayer

*This devotional is from A God First Life, written by Pastors Michael and Charla Turner

Luke 2:52 // Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.

It is a common fact and truth that everything that is healthy will grow. This doesn’t just apply to natural things around us like plants and animals, but it applies to our lives as well. Our bodies and minds are always growing at the rate of our self-care. The better we treat them, the better we are.

One attribute as believers that we always want to be growing is our wisdom. From the moment we become a child of God, we are on a path of growth, and that growth is strengthened by the wisdom we have in God. What we began as a diet of milk should soon become a one full of solid food. The more we spend time with Christ, the more He is formed inside of us, and the more everything concerning our lives becomes transformed.

It’s awesome that Jesus, although equal with God, developed a pattern of growth for us all to follow, where His wisdom and favor grew while here on earth. His wisdom did not just come from within Himself, it came from those He was committed to listen and learn from. The same is true with us. Our journey of growth and wisdom is not only found in the Word of God, but by surrounding ourselves with wise people. In fact, the Bible tells us that we will grow in favor and safety when we have a ‘multitude’ of counselors. Not just a few, but a multitude.

What wisdom are you in need of today? Who are you listening to right now that has achieved what you are trying to achieve?

Jesus grew in stature too, not just physically but in his spirit and soul. Jesus learned to recognize opportunities to take action on. He grew in RESPONSE ability – the ability to respond the right way in the right time. God wants us to mature spiritually and grow in responsibility just like Jesus. We are called to grow up in Christ (Eph. 4:15)

Jesus grew in favor by knowing what pleased The Father. God loves us all the same but His favor can grow in our lives as we live with a sincere desire to do what delights him. It is like my children, I love them all deeply and equally but when they desire to do what I have asked them to do especially when they do it without me having to ask them I am inclined to lavish unexpected favor upon them.

The actions you choose to take today can make all the difference in the world. You can become the person of blessing that God wants you to become just by seeking His wisdom every day.

When you seek His voice and His values, your wisdom increases in every direction. For those of you who are parents, you know that love and obedience from your children can go a long way. When they are committed to doing what you ask of them, you can’t help but to favor them with love and gifts.

Our God is the same way. He loves to provide us with privileges when we begin to show Him that we value what He values, and love what He loves. And when our wisdom grows, we not only grow in our knowledge of Him, our favor with people He wants us to reach and impact will increase as well.

Day 10 of 21 Days of Prayer

*This devotional is from A God First Life, written by Pastors Michael and Charla Turner

Matthew 6:22 // Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light.

Your vision is a huge determining factor to where you want to go in life. No different than driving a car, we steer in the direction that we stare. In a world full of multiple attractions and distractions whose sole purpose is to pull us away from the things that matter most, what we find ourselves looking at most is very important for us to evaluate as often as we can.

As believers, we should keep our eyes steady on our God, our family, our health and our finances. However, our enemy is well aware of that, and does all he can to break our focus. He knows that when our vision is clear, we are able to see the path God wants us to take.

The quality of our life is a direct result of the quality and clarity of our vision.

In order to maintain a God-first life, one that sees clearly and seeks God’s kingdom fully, there are a few questions you should ask yourself every day:

Where are you headed? Where do you want to go?
And when you get to where you want to go, where will that be?

No matter which direction we decide to take, we will never end up in the right place if we are not going to the right source for direction. The Holy Spirit is that right source. He is the perfect helper, ready to guide us into all truth when we seek Him with all of our heart. If you are discouraged about where you are today, there’s no reason to stay there. God has a great plan and purpose for you, so today, become optimistic and hopeful about where you can go.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best way to predict the futures to create it.” If you are ready to create a new future, then it time to begin making some decisions today. Decide what you wantons of your life, your marriage, your family, your business and your health. And don’t just decide, write it down. Keep your eyes on it.

When you keep your eyes on your vision you are essentially keeping your eyes on your why. And whenever you and I lose our why, we will lose our way. Now is the time to see yourself doing, becoming, and experiencing all that God has destined for your life.

Begin to meditate today quietly before the Lord and watch your vision become a reality. When you acknowledge Him first, you can take confidence that your best days are indeed ahead.

Day 9: of 21 Days of Prayer

*This devotional is from A God First Life, written by Pastors Michael and Charla Turner

Genesis 1:28 // Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it.

Have you ever been called lazy before? Not a great feeling is it? It seems like a harsh word to hear, and perhaps even more harsh to say, but it’s a word Jesus actually used when describing those who refused to do something meaningful with the time and talents they were given.

In what is called ‘the parable of the talents, Jesus shares that an owner gave talents to several of his servants before heading off on a journey. When he came back, he discovered that some of the servants reproduced and multiplied what they had, while others chose not to by hiding it. Those that multiplied their talents were given more, but those that did not, he called them lazy. In fact, he not only called them lazy, he called them wicked.

One of the things you and I must understand as believers is how much God has invested into us. When we consider the investment He made using the blood of His very own son, it ought to shape something within our hearts. To knit us together with Him and to provide us with purpose and destiny while we were still in our mother’s womb, it ought to spark something within us.

Our God is a God who has invested a lot into us. And He wants a return on His investment.

Everything that God designed was done so with the purpose of being fruitful.

Men and women were both created and provided the tools to bring forth life when they come together as one. When we look at nature, specifically how trees and plants reproduce and multiply after themselves, we can see that fruitfulness is something that God expects out of everything that is connected to Him.

When you and I stand before God and hopefully hear those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” it will most likely be because we followed His Word and were fruitful. God will call us good at the end of our life because we fully embraced what He says about what is right. And He will call us faithful because we weren’t satisfied with just showing up in life, but that we were committed to produce a return.

A fruitful harvest of everything He has called us to do.

Day 8 of 21 Days of Prayer

*This devotional is from A God First Life, written by Pastors Michael and Charla Turner

Psalm 122:1 // I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.

While it’s tough to admit, there was a time in my life when going to church was not something I would look forward to. Those dreaded words “let’s go to church” would always make me sad because I did not understand the joy and the power of worshiping God with other faith-filled believers in one place. Several decades later, 1 am so glad that church is now a part of my life.

When I finally committed to putting God first in my week and discovered that true success in the Kingdom starts on Sunday, it set a tone of joy for my life and for my entire family.

Did you know that there have been a number of scientific studies conducted on the benefits of attending a weekly worship service? It’s been proven that people who faithfully commit to worshiping weekly with a community actually live longer, and also believe they have more of a sense of fulfillment and purpose concerning their lives.

And while we appreciate that science shows us living longer lives when we do, we know that as believers, that is not our primary motivation for going to church. We go to church because we are invited to draw near to God. We go to church so we can magnify the Lord together. We go to church because we are commanded not to ever forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

One of the reasons we believe and often say that success begins on Sunday is because over 2,000 years ago, the original founder of the local church, actually walked out of a tomb on a Sunday!

Although dead on a Friday, He was made alive on a Sunday!

Every Sunday morning, you and I have been given a weekly opportunity to proclaim throughout the world that Jesus got up and conquered death, hell and the grave.

No matter what we may have faced during the week, Sunday is our chance to come together and lift up the name of Jesus, a name that is above any other name. By coming together every Sunday, we are reminding each other that since His tomb is empty, ours can be as well. This is something we are commanded to do together, because we are simply better when together.

You and I belong in the house of the Lord, and when we commit to doing so each week, we are well on our way to not only leading a God first life, but helping others to do so too.

Day 7 of 21 Days of Prayer

*This devotional is from A God First Life, written by Pastors Michael and Charla Turner

Joshua 1:8 // Keep this Book of the Law 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.

It’s been said that the greatest commodity that you and I have in this world is our time. When you think about what we spend most of our time on each day, very little actually brings us the return that we are looking for. It’s something that we can never get back if wasted.

However, one of the greatest investments you and I can make with our time is when we commit ourselves to prayer. Not just when we first wake up, but to do so whenever we can, because doing so demonstrates to God that our time with Him is what we value most.

We serve a God that wants us to reflect His nature and image throughout the earth. To reflect His glory to a world so desperately in need of Him. But the only way to do so is to spend time with Him in prayer. You see, it is in prayer that God reveals truth to us. It’s where He reveals His treasure. Those secret things that cannot be found in a life that is committed to the world.

No matter how hard we try, Google can’t provide what our souls long for each day. Our phones can’t provide them either. God is the only source that can provide us with what we need and that is why He is worth our full devotion every opportunity we get.

To devote yourself to something means to meditate on it.

It is in prayer that God reveals truth to us. It’s where he reveals His treasure. 

The Word meditate means to have your mind constantly focused on something; to spend time thinking deeply about it without any wavering. When our time with God is one that ceases from wavering, when it is not just an outline for our day, but it becomes the focus for our day, we are able to access a joy and a peace that is truly unshakable.

*This devotional is from A God First Life, written by Pastors Michael and Charla Turner

Acts 13:52 // The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

There is nothing quite like having the margin and capacity necessary to enjoy life. When we fill our lives up with doubt, worry, fear and regret, we are left with very little space for God to be worshiped and to dwell with us.

Every single day, we are given the opportunity by God to create space for Him. In fact, did you know that God has given us as believers the authority to decide on what we will fill our hearts with? So many times we find ourselves filling up on distractions and attractions which fill us with envy, discouragement and insecurity. God has given us the ability to choose what we will give our time, energy and focus to. When we choose to worship Him, we are choosing a life full of more of the things we know bring true fulfillment and peace. It is the place where we are most satisfied and God is most glorified!

When you and I choose to worship God in praise, when we confess God’s Word over our lives, we are filling ourselves with His Spirit, the Holy Spirit; a spirit of power, love and soundness of mind. As His sons and daughters, we have been given access to His presence, and it is His presence that creates space for us to accomplish all that He has for us. Psalm 16:11 says that in His presence there is fullness us Joy and at his right hand are pleasures forever more. Making room for God is the most important action we can take every day knowing that He will fill me with His Holy Spirit enabling me to live in freedom and victory.

Making space for God means we have to create time for Him. To make room for Him. To acknowledge and focus on Him daily is what will fill our hearts with hope and faith.

When we are willing to empty ourselves and seek Him first above everything else, He is more than willing to fill up our heart with good things. Be filled with the Holy Spirit because He is our teacher, our comforter and helper whenever we are in need.

Making space for God means we have to create time for Him.

If you are ready for a day filled with joy, commit to beginning it with worship. Living and leading a God-first life can only be fueled by a heart full of Him. Choose to fill it up today.

*This devotional is from A God First Life, written by Pastors Michael and Charla Turner

Philippians 4:6-7 //  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

A recent study performed by the ADAA, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, found that an astounding 43% of the population of the United States struggles with worry! In fact, they described it as the most common mental illness in America.

All of us have at one time or another worried about something. No one has ever escaped worry, as it loves to battle for our mind and keep us dwelling on the difficulties of our life. It does everything it can to blind us from solutions and keep us in constant fear. And when we are in fear, we cannot live the abundant and courageous life that God has called us to live.

One of the things I love about observing little children is that they often go about their lives without any fear. Their lack of exposure frees them to imagine what’s possible in life, instead of what’s negative. I’ll never forget playing with my cousins as a small child back in South Carolina. We would love to go to play at nearby lakes, and search for clams in the sand. Whenever we dug them out, we would open them right up. With toes buried in the sand, we would laugh together without a care in the world.

Well let’s just say, you couldn’t pay me to do that now! As an adult, I now live in the wonderful world of “what ifs.” Today, every ‘what if’ scenario I could think about would make me opt out of going back to that lake. The snake and bug bites. The alligator attacks. Every negative thing I could think of would spark instant worry and fear in me and cause me to only focus on every negative scenario that could happen.

What would it be like to be a child again? To have a childlike faith, free of fear and full of confidence, knowing that we have a wonderful God who loves us and wants to take care of us. Could you imagine a life where you push past every fear, every anxiety and every worry? Well that is the life our God wants us to have.He wants nothing more than to bring more of heaven on earth for us to experience.

Now I know our brains can seem to be hardwired for negativity, but I want you to know that we as believers are able to rewire our brains and develop new positive thoughts and habits. It’s not easy, but if we can commit to renewing our mind daily, where we deny ourselves the opportunity to dwell on the negative and focus our attention on a God who is bigger than our problems, everything is possible!

I want to encourage you today to begin to magnify our God. When you magnify God, you are making Him bigger. And the bigger He becomes, the more those “what ifs” begin to disappear and are replaced with a life full of freedom and faith.

*This devotional is from A God First Life, written by Pastors Michael and Charla Turner

John 14:15 // If you love me, keep my commandments.

It is often said that true love, a love that is authentic and worth pursuing, is one that is unconditional. It requires no prerequisites. And it makes no demands. However, when it comes to demonstrating a love for God, there are in fact a few conditions that exist.

John, the disciple who described himself as the one that Jesus ‘loved’ above all, said that in order to love God, keeping His commands are essential for us to do. Now we can look at this request as conditional, but either way, it involves us doing something.

It involves action on our part.

As believers, we know that the Word of God contains all of the commands of God. In fact, Jesus is not just found in the Word of God, John describes Jesus as the actual Word of God. When we understand that, we know that the only way to know Him or His commandments is to commit to reading His word daily. Our reading and obeying His word is a sign of worship.

I love what the Passion translation says about what John wrote. It actually says that loving God ’empowers’ us to obey His commands. It points to the fact that the more we love God, we have no other option than to obey what He says. When we commit to worshiping Him daily, we discover how worthy He is and how much He deserves our complete devotion.

Our act of worship and obedience to God is not done to make ourselves appear to be worthy in His eyes. Our goal, whether at home, work or at church is to worship in a way where our love for Him is clearly displayed. A worship so pure in spirit that it engages our entire heart.

When we embrace His commandments, we are embracing Him. And when we are keeping His commandments, we are embracing love.

Every action of obedience on our part unlocks the love our hearts have been longing for.

*This devotional is from A God First Life, written by Pastors Michael and Charla Turner

Matthew 6:33 // But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

There is nothing worse than having things out of order in our life. We are unable to function correctly and we are rarely fulfilled as God would want us to be. As Christ followers, we are a part of a beautiful kingdom, whose king has a special way of doing things.

And that way is called righteousness. Whenever we are seeking God first, we are prioritizing His righteousness, His way of doing things over our own. God has an order to all that He has created, and as His creation, the order of our life matters to Him. He wants to know that He always comes first, no matter how busy the day or how urgent the task.
He wants our first.

We cannot afford to let our daily distractions and obligations cause us to miss how important putting Him first truly is. That busyness and desire for instant gratification that we all are tempted to pursue every day, will have us frustrated with the results time and time again. A life without God being first is just like placing a cart before the horse, hoping to see it move.
Nothing good is going to happen from that because what needs to be first is not in place.
Remember this: whatever we place in our lives as first we honor. It is something we value as important and critical to our well-being.

When we place God as first in our lives, we are showing Him the honor that He is due. And when we put Him first, we will never be second to anything. Simply because when order is restored, blessing is released. The things we desire from God daily – His presence, His provision, and His promises concerning our lives are released in us and through us when He becomes first.

Whatever we place in our lives first we honor.

If you want to see the supernatural happen in your life, and are ready for exponential growth, seek His kingdom first. It you are ready for exponential growth and for your capacity to grow, seek His kingdom first. Worship Him first before anything in your day is added.
Because when you do, He begins to add to your life in a way you never could imagine.

*This devotional is from A God First Life, written by Pastors Michael and Charla Turner