Hello my dear friend, I’m Claudine McDaniel, the founder of the ministry Beyond Conquerors and the author of the book called More than Conquerors: from struggles to forgiveness from forgiveness to Blessings. Our mission is to bring love and hope to individuals who have been knocked down by life’s difficulties. Last week, during my devotional time, I was reflecting on how we can stay out of trouble, avoid unnecessary problems, overcome our difficulties, and live the life that God the father wants us to have. The “how” is to love Jesus and to put Him first.

It means we make him the number one. We strive to follow his steps, we long for Him, we have the desire to prioritize being with Him. We give him priority over our jobs, our belongings, our position, our desires, finances, dreams, and even our kids. We consult Him before making any life changing decision. The truth is putting Jesus first makes everything else fall into place. In Matthew 6:33 it says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

First, we need to make sure that we invite Him to come into our heart and into our life. When we invite Him in, He comes in and becomes our personal savior. Then we begin to learn about Him through his word - the Bible. The more we learn about Him, the more we begin to know Him and the more connected we become to Him. We start every day in prayer, reading the word, and meditating on the word.

Also, putting Jesus first means we obey Him. We trust Him when He says “yes" and trust Him when He says “no”. But most of the time we are stubborn and want to do what our flesh desires.

At 13 of age, I received Jesus Christ and was committed to putting Him first. I studied and meditated on the word, I prayed, and I developed a deep relationship with the Lord. I was very happy and looked forward to living a normal life in my native country, Togo--getting married and having a family, which was every girl's dream.

In 2000, I met a young man that I liked so much. After going out a few times, I decided to pray about it. While praying one day, I fell into a deep sleep. In my sleep, I dreamed of the young man I was seeing in an disagreeable place wearing a dark wedding ring. It was an unpleasant and nasty feeling. I woke up from my dream, and I immediately knew my relationship with this young man was wrong. However, because I loved him so much I refused to listen to what the Lord was telling me, I proceeded anyway even though all that my five senses were telling me and ignored what the spirit of the Lord was telling me. Guess what--I got married, but it turned to be nothing but disappointment, abuse, betrayal and all kinds of difficulties.

Since God loves me so much, He made a way for me to leave that abusive relationship and to come into the United States.

So my friend, I encourage you to put Jesus first in your life. Make Him number one over your days, your job, your belongings, your position, your possessions, your finances, your dreams, and even your significant other, your kids, and your life. Doing so will not only make everything else fall into place in your life, but will help you develop a personal relationship with Him. Not only that, but it will also bring you into alignment with His will. But don’t forget to be obedient and do what He tells you, and see Him move in your life in wonderful ways.

My brothers and sisters, I want to tell you that God loves you so much. That is why He sent Jesus His son to come on this earth and die on the cross for your sins so that if you believe in Him you will not perish, but you will have eternal life (John 3:16). I encourage you to make the decision to follow Jesus because He is the Way and the Truth and the Life. If you want to receive Christ, you are welcome to say this prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior.

If you said the prayer above, Christ Jesus is now living in you. Talk to Him about anything that is going on in your life, and see Him turn your life around.

He is now your guide.

He is now your provider.

He is your miracle worker.

He is your way maker.

He is your comforter.

He is your peace giver.

He will never leave you nor forsake you.

He will help you to become all that He has created you to be.

Thank you so much!

Love,

Claudine McDaniel