Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today we’ll highlight a clear, but seldom discussed, requirement for approaching God. Let’s call it the ‘first things first’ requirement.

In today’s scripture, Mark 11:24‭-‬25 (NLT), Jesus said…
I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”

Consider…
According to Oxford Languages, ‘first things first’ is used to assert that important matters should be dealt with before other things.

Usually when I hear messages about approaching God, they focus on us coming boldly before Him because of the access granted through Jesus Christ. While those messages are correct, there are other conditions we need to be mindful of.

Today’s scripture gives us one of those conditions. Notice Jesus said…
“when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”

Jesus is telling us that we must come unencumbered by unforgiveness. And may I add that I believe that unforgiveness is really just dressed up bitterness.

I believe that because, the Apostle Paul admonishes us to…
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. – Ephesians 4:31‭-‬32 NLT

As a dad it amazed me how some of my children would want mercy for their mistakes, but justice for their siblings mistakes. Then again, I shouldn’t have been surprised, since I know the parable of the unforgiving servant. You remember, he asked for forgiveness for what he owed and was forgiven, yet demanded justice for someone who owed him a minute fraction of what the debt he had been forgiven. Look at what Jesus said happened…
Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” – Matthew 18:32‭-‬35 NLT

Coupling this parable with today’s scripture, it’s crystal clear that you must first uproot the butterness in your heart for others before planting yourself before God’s throne of mercy.

Another ‘first things first’ requirement was given by Jesus in Matthew 5:23‭-‬24 (NASB1995), where He said…
Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.

It’s funny to me that there’s a ton of preaching and teaching on tithing and financial stewardship, but nary a word about the spiritual reconciliation God requires for a balanced ledger. I believe Jesus’ instructions underscores the fact that God is more concerned with relationships than religion. Don’t misunderstand, being a good steward and paying our tithes are God honoring acts of worship, they’re just not absolution from doing right by others.

Sometimes I think we feel absolved of our mistreatment of others because of our church attendance, cross accessorized dress, and Bible quoting activities. But God is clear, we cannot claim to love or be part of Him if we have issues with others. I know this because 1 John 4:20 (NLT) explains…
If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?

And a few verses earlier John said…
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. – 1 John 4:10‭-‬12 NLT

It’s tempting to make verse 10, that explains real love is God loving us, all about us. However, it’s also a call to the standard of love He expects from us. God’s standard of love is unconditional and unfailing. That means regardless of if others fail us or we fail them, God expects us to love them anyway!

This makes sense of Jesus’ instructions to make things right with those we’ve wronged or been wronged by. Afterall, He’s just telling us to copy Him.

Romans 5:9 (NLT) says…
And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.

We talk about Jesus’ blood being shed for us, but we forget that it’s our sins that cause Him to be crucified. Yet He loved us unconditionally and unfailingly.

So the next time you’re inclined to ask God for mercy, check your ledger of being merciful. And if there are some missing transactions, settle those up first.

This concludes our examination of God’s ‘first things first’ requirement of engagement with Him.

Today’s song is…
Forgiveness

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)