What are your priorities?   “Thumbs Up for Jesus” means keeping Jesus as the first and foundational relationship so that His sacrificial, unconditional, and incarnational love flows through us into all our other relationships.

Imagine your hand held in a thumbs-up position. The thumb points upward toward Jesus, while the four fingers represent the other major relationships God has given us.

Jesus is not merely one priority among many. He is the source and foundation for all the others. When our relationship with Jesus is properly ordered, His love flows through us into our other relationships.

Jesus (the thumb):  Jesus comes first. We receive His love, forgiveness, and life through His Word and the means of grace. Everything else flows from this relationship.

Spouse (first finger):  For a married person, the marriage relationship receives the next level of priority. The marriage is characterized by sacrificial, unconditional, and incarnational love.

Family (second finger):  Love and responsibility extend to children and the broader family. The idea isn't simply “spend more time with family,” but to see family relationships as vocations in which Christ's love is lived out.

Church (third finger): Christians are members of a spiritual family.  Fellow believers aren't competitors or obstacles; they are brothers and sisters in Christ.

World (fourth finger):  The love received from Jesus ultimately goes outward to people beyond the immediate Christian family. This includes one's vocation, community, neighbors, and witness to those who don't yet know Christ.

Thus the Christian life moves from Jesus → through our closest relationships → outward into the world.

from “Handing Out Life” by Rev. Todd Biermann

How do you start your day? Do you roll out of bed at the last minute and race chaotically into the deluge of life?

A better way is to orient yourself spiritually to anchor your day in the Lord's enduring promises. It changes the tone for the whole day and makes you better prepared to be a growing disciple of Jesus who is making disciples of Jesus wherever you go. 

The good news is that it doesn't take much time to get your bearings set each morning. In fact, we've been sharing a simple practice that takes two minutes or less and is fitting for any disciple of any age.

SEE & HEAR Dr. Todd Biermann share a simple Daily Morning Orientation video.

When you're REALLY SHORT on time, use this Daily Essential Orientation video.

WORDING for the Essential Orientation:

• Where did I come from? From God, who made me.
• Where am I going? To God, who redeemed me when Jesus died on the cross and rose in victory.
• What's my purpose in between? To receive Jesus' sacrificial, unconditional and incarnational love and hand it out to everyone every day.

Resource from Concordia Center for the Family.