Acts 5:17-26

Acts 5:17-26
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Let's say you are sitting on your couch and receive two messages.  One is that your best friend is having a tough week and needs a friend to talk to right away.  The other is that you won the lottery,  but have to fly three states away and can't be back for a week.  At that moment, you'd have to decide which was more important to you.  (I know, there are workarounds... but work with me here.)
  Every day, we live out our priorities.  Now, we may not explicitly say what is most important, but where we invest our time and energy is a declaration about what matters most.  These daily choices turn into weekly priorities, and whether or not we do so with intention, we shape our lives around what we have decided our priorities are.  We make choices, and our limited attention focuses on our highest priorities first.  Have you ever spent time in the presence of someone who was clearly not making you their highest priority at the moment?
  The apostles are being hounded by the religious leaders to not proclaim the Gospel.  They are thrown in jail and threatened with violence.  They are dragged before trials to try and silence them, but their first and highest priority is to proclaim the Gospel in all they do, and they will not be dissuaded by anything.
  So the question for us is -- what is your highest priority, and how do you live that out everyday?  Do we, in our work and in our relationships, seek to keep the Gospel first?  Do we place others first?  I often end up with myself at the top of my priority tree, and then whatever is left trickles down to others.  If I don't pay attention, it will stay like that.  But through prayer and a loving community, we recognize our flaws and work to draw nearer to God and demonstrate his selfless love.