Category: discipleship

The Real God-pleaser

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“Brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more.”

1 Thessalonians 4:1, NLT

We live to pleasure God. This is the way of the Christian believer. It is one of the driving purposes of the remainder of our lives. Pleasing God is fundamental. We live to gladden His heart.

Jesus lived to please His Father. At His baptism, “And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy” (Matthew 3:17). And we read Jesus’ own words,  “And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.” (John 8:29).

God was pleased with Jesus; He not once did a thing apart from His Father’s will. I’m certain Jesus could have– but He didn’t. Jesus the Son, always wanted to live a life that would make His Father proud.

In our own discipleship this level of piety and devotion “gets the hiccups.’ Things seldom run so smooth. Remember when you first tried to drive a stick shift. Down the street I went stalling and jumping and jerking. It was a miracle any of my passengers survived. But this is how you learn.

Paul wrote the Church in Thessalonica, “to live in such a way as to please God.” In spite of what you might think, this is the proper attitude of His servant. It is attainable and authentic way to live. Just as Jesus pleased God with the Holy Spirit, we too can be empowered to live a God-pleasing life. We do this through our faith.

The singular issue (it seems to me) is making right choices. I know many other things are involved in this, but saying ‘No’ to disobedience is a significant decision. And it’s just as important to say ‘Yes’ to our Father’s will. This ‘no-yes combination,’ fueled by the infilling of the Holy Spirit, will lead us to please the Lord.

I simply want to encourage you to be a ‘God-pleaser’ today. Just for today, live to bring Him joy. Charm Him. Ask God to fill you and then guide you through your busy day. He most definitely will.

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First, You Die

“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. 25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.” 

John 12:24-25, NLT

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We kick it off with a basic knowledge of farming.  Not every farmer knows this, but all his seed sown in the ground will die.  Now it is possible this fact may discourage some, but the wise farmer accepts the dead seed, knowing that green growth will sprout from this death into a harvest of 1000x times or more for every dead seed.

“He that loves his life will lose it”.  This is one of the first ‘laws of the spirit’ we must learn.  It is the basis of so much that we have to know.  For years I have preached this message just before Easter Sunday.  “There can be no resurrection without a crucifixion.  There is simply no resurrection power without crucifixion weakness”.

Alas, we must die before we can live.  There is no way around this, and no waiver can be given to avoid this truth.  You have to die, it is a profound necessity.  But often we become adept at ‘life support’ systems.  Doing what we can do to keep the ‘old man’ alive.  So much of what we find in religion is nothing more than a way to put the ‘old man’ on life support.

Unless we die, we will never, ever live.  If we try to save our life, we will die.  Choosing then to die is really your best option.  But what does that entail?  Every Christian is to submit to carrying his/her cross daily.  That cross is intended, not for a showy display, but to die upon.  Our self-life must choose to die, when we are ‘crossed’ by someone else.  Someone insinuates that something is wrong with us, and we die when we just humbly accept it without rancor or anger.

Resurrection life is what happens when we finally decide to die.  Doing so, we become incredibly fruitful for one.  We start to live the life Jesus had intended for us.  You will start to make the connections that were not possible before, you become spiritually diversified, reaching a very broad spectrum of people.

But most of all, the most of everything, you will connect with others on this fresh level.  Your spirituality will not become a hindrance to others.  In a very real way you’ll become like Jesus.  And that can’t be at all bad.

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Fear God Only

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“—for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—”

Exodus 34:14

“And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as “foreigners in the land.””

1 Peter 1:17, NLT

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A frequent issue confronted by disciples is that between fear and faith.  The question posed to us concerns “fearing God”, and trusting Him.  Can intimacy be built on the foundation of fear?  Deep within, we understand the need for fear, at least a reverence.

We are now sons and daughters of a loving God who just happens to be holy and just. It’s as if our faith is reduced to an uneasy contact with someone who is quite dangerous. We don’t easily find the balance; it drives us to a false sense of relationship. Often we are either resentful and cower, or we blatantly disregard Him. (Or somewhere in between.)

Yet fear has a place.  Our Father reveals to us that He is not just some mere tribal deity over a specific group of people.  Rather, Jehovah God is the Creator, and the Sustainer of this terrestrial ball, and everything that works itself out in the here-and-now.  We are to fear, but with a legitimate fear.  He is a loving God who happens to hate sin and iniquity. These things continue to destroy His creation. It defiles all that is right and perfect. He would not be just, or right to overlook sin.

I am certain that He loves me with a “crazy-love”.  His affection for me pushes the boundaries of anything logical. He is not reasonable with His intense love.  He directed His Son to come for me, and lift me out of my ugliness, sinfulness and perversity.  His love goes beyond anything rational. But I fear Him. It is a fear that I might offend Him and somehow harm His kingdom. (That is a legitimate possibility, but it also strengthens me to obey Him.)

So, do I fear or do I love?  I think the wrestling with this will work itself into me.  It is fear and love combined, worked into my heart like yeast is worked in bread dough.  There will be a resulting effect. I have a faith that should grow this up. It needs to advance as I mature in Him. I choose to love Him fiercely, and fear Him conclusively.

aabryscript

Joy is Not Optional

“The test of Christian character should be that a man is a joy-bearing agent to the world.”   –Henry Ward Beecher

The last several days have been quite difficult.  I have lived in a separated state with the Lord and that is not anything that I can long tolerate or endure.  I have gone into this period of self-hatred with eyes wide shut and quite ashamed with my own stupidity.  I am not a saint, I am a 100% sinner, through and through.

I have come to see Nehemiah‘s ministry was only superficially building up the walls of Jerusalem.  Rebuilding the walls was just a pretext to rebuilding a people.  They were defeated and overwhelmed.  Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Neh. 8:10).

13 Things About What the Bible Says About Joy:

  1. Jesus’ aim in all He taught was the joy of His people (Jn. 15:11).
  2. Joy is what God fills us with when we trust in Christ (Rom. 15:13).
  3. The kingdom of God is joy (Rom. 14:17).
  4. Joy is the fruit of God’s Spirit within us (Gal. 5:22).
  5. Joy is the aim of everything the apostles did and wrote (2 Cor. 1:24).
  6. Becoming a Christian is finding a joy that makes you willing to forsake everything (Mat. 13:44).
  7. Joy is nourished and sustained by the word of God in the Bible (Ps. 19:8).
  8. Joy will overtake all sorrow for those who trust Christ (Ps. 126:5; 30:5)
  9. God Himself is our joy (Psm. 43:4; 16:11). Joy in God outstrips all earthly joy (Ps. 4:7)
  10. If your joy is in God, no one can take your joy from you (Jn. 16:22).
  11. God calls all nations and peoples to join in the joy He offers to all who believe. No racism. No ethnocentrism (Ps. 67:4; Ps. 66:1).
  12.  The whole Christian message from beginning to end is good news of great joy (Lk. 2:10; Isa. 51:11).
  13. When we meet Christ at His second coming we will enter into his indestructible joy (Mt. 25:23).

 List by John Piper

I believe that  joy should mark a person of spiritual health.  Joy is to be embedded into our character for all to see.  Without joy we no longer can rebuild our walls, and we toss aside our tools.  The work of restoration is intense, and unless we take joy in the Lord we will falter and fail.

“God threatens terrible things if we will not be happy.” –Jeremy Taylor

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