Category: pleasing God

Pearl Grey With Jaggedy Edges

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A simple doggerel quickly written down in an inconvenient moment came like a blast, and as soon as it came, it left. I was thinking of the ordinariness of God’s grace, and our apprehension of it. It passes over us, and lest we fail to reach out for it, it will pass us by. We must latch on to it, securing ourself by faith to it’s real presence. I only suppose it will take us to some real ‘impossible’ places.

Pearl grey with jaggedy edges

But with certain hope, we commence

Into it and all that it has for us

(We grasp for all that it has for us)

We take all that He has made for us

Rightfully and truly, surely constant

There is a grace that sustains the weary heart

And a hope that carries us far beyond

this real and precious moment

We rest in this present moment

We rest (and that is the right word)

In the God of the pearl grey

And this jaggedy moment.

 

I am not a poet, so I hope you are not traumatized by my effort, rather you take it for what it is worth. (I’ve got low expectations here). But please, reach out to His grace in whatever is happening in your life right now. He alone loves you as you deserve to be loved. aabryscript

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.

aabryscript