Who's #1 in Your Book?????

We were talking about our minds, and who and what we think about most. With most people now days, it's self...unfortunate but true. If you belong to the Lord, He REQUIRES you to think about and put, Him first. Romans 12:1-2 says it all..."I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, it's your reasonable service. And, be not conformed to this world, but be transformed, by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good, perfect, and acceptable will of God. " He wants us to be aware of him and thinking His thoughts all the time. I read a comment recently to this effect: "Father, I want to spend the day with You!" What a wonderful mindset...that would definitely make HIM #1 in your book! It is not in our nature to deny self, even in prayer our minds wander. It doesn't need to be said that it takes discipline to keep focused on our relationship with Him. But, it's worth it because when you are fucused on Him, perception changes, we see the bigger picture as we take on the mind of Christ. Serving Him becomes a very pleasurable thought and we can look for ways to be like Him as we interact with others. It becomes easier to forgive some infraction against us or some slight. We find that things that  use to drive us up the wall and under the paper, no longer do. Why? Because we consider the other persons point of view. Have you ever carried a grudge? We all have but truth be told, we don't have to. A grudge comes about because we don't want to forgive and put the infraction "away." We want to hold it close to us, rehearsing it over and over in our minds as it gets bigger and bigger. Most of us have the idea that to forgive is to agree with the offender...but it isn't. Forgiving, between you an the Lord, relieves you of carrying the burden, puts it on God's shoulders and SHOULD clear your conscience. I say should because once again we rehearse the problem instead of leaving it with the Lord and focusing on Him and His Word. Memorizing Scripture really helps with the process of forgiving...turn it over to Him and refocus on a verse of Scripture. Next thing you know, your mindset has changed, and so have you.  Forgiveness is the key to a life of ABIDING. It is impossible to carry around a bunch of nasty emotional baggage and abide in Christ at the same time. Think about it and I think you'll see my point.