"If any man come to me, and hate not his father,
and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren,
and sisters, yea and his own life also,
he cannot be my disciple." - Luke 14:26

I love to listen to music.

Correction. I love to listen to music!!!  That's better.

Music is a very important part of my life. As long as I can remember I have enjoyed turning the radio on, or popping a cassette into the stereo. And when some friends of mine introduced me to Christian music about six years ago...

...I was instantly hooked!

Christian music ministers to me. Maybe you can relate. When I am discouraged, I can grab my remote and fire up my favorite CD and hear songs that lift up the Name of Jesus...

...and immediately my spirits soar!

One of my favorite things about music has always been listening to the countdowns. I remember as a youngster growing up, I would listen to the Top 40 Music Countdown each week.

I loved it. I would find a piece of paper and log each of the top 40 songs as they were counted down to number one. I would write down what number they were the week before and chart their progress or decline.

What I really enjoyed doing was keeping an eye on (or an ear on!) the songs that I liked as they headed up the charts. As they entered the "top 10" I really became interested. How high would they go? Would they reach number one?

I was always disappointed when a song that, in my estimation, should have went to the top spot, didn't make it. Or, if it did make it, I was disappointed when it began to fall down the charts.

You know, sometimes I believe Jesus must take a similar look at us. Where does He find Himself on the chart of our lives? He's interested in seeing where He is in the "top 40 countdown" of priorities.

Some weeks, does He look at our lives and say with disappointment, "I'm not even in the Top 10 this week"? Does He ever look at our schedule and all of the things that we have given preference to and think, "There's still four things that are placed higher on the charts today than me."

Or maybe, just maybe, the Lord Jesus Christ can look at our lives and, with the excitement of a ten year old whose favorite song was just named the best in the land, say "I'm #1 in this one's life. I'm at the Top of the Charts. I'm where I belong, and everything else comes after me on the list of priorities."

This morning, my Christian friend, is Jesus at the Top of the Charts in your life? Is He #1? Or, has He slipped a few places as other things have moved ahead of Him in importance?

He deserves to be first, you know. So, I'll ask you...

...where does Jesus rank in your life?

Have a "Wonderful DAY in Christ,"
Jimmy D. Brown
\o/ Praise Jesus!