Pastor Jonathan Fiddy talked about how as Christians, loving and serving Jesus should be the number one priority in our lives. Religion can be based on laws and rules, making people do things they don't want to do; but as followers of Jesus Christ, the love we have for Him, our best friend, makes us want to please Him.

When we put God first in our lives, everything else falls into place. Matthew 6v33 says 'Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well'. God blesses us with everything else we need when we give Him the place He deserves in our lives.

God doesn't want us to be lukewarm Christians, not really caring much about what we do and lacking commitment to God and His church - He wants us to be burning with a passion for Him and His work. In Rev 3v15-16, it talks about those who were 'neither cold nor hot'. Jesus wants us to be fully committed to Him.  Hebrews 11v6 says that 'he rewards those who earnestly seek him', so we can't lose out!

Church should be an important part of our lives, so that we can meet with other people who have similar beliefs to ourselves. When we share with each other God's word and our experiences with Jesus, we can grow in our faith and encourage each other. We should give time to God to be at church, giving Him the best of our lives, our time and our money. Everything we own belongs to God and is a gift from Him anyway - He gave His life for us, so surely we can give our best back to Him in return!

Our families are important to us too, spending quality time with our children and loved ones, making sure they are provided for, loved and cared for. We also need to take time to look after ourselves, so that we can live life to the full and do everything God wants us to. Our bodies need proper sleep and rest, good nutrition, etc, to function at their best. We should love ourselves enough to stop bad habits which are bad for us and hinder us - God wants us in the best condition possible! Sometimes we need to take time out of daily routines so we can have space to think through situations and assess our lives and where we're going to.

God wants us to really enjoy life to the full, not be under stress and anxiety or bowed down under circumstances. If we follow His blueprint for life, we can only succeed!  He came to give us 'life in all its fullness!'

All are welcome to the services on Sundays at 10.15 am (there are no evening meetings for the next two weeks).  The website is http://www.emmanuelgospelministries.org">www.emmanuelgospelministries.org.