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Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Today: Pleasing Christ
Reading Passages: 2 Cor 5
9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Cor 5:9-10, NIV)
When pleasing God becomes a priority, many of our questions about living the Christian life will be answered automatically
We will not be asking too much of that “Is it right to do that?” and, “Why is it wrong to do that?” kind of questions then
When we please God, we may not please everybody out there
34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “a man against his father, a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’[c] (Mat 10: 34-36, NIV)
You may wonder, “Did Jesus really say that?”
Yes; He did
The way of Jesus is not a way of compromise, but many churches and leaders have got it wrong!
When God created Light and found that it was good, the next thing God did was to separate Light from darkness
God is a God of Light and holiness; the moment a person becomes a child of God, an immediate “separation” happens
14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial[b]? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”[c] 17 Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”[d] (2 Cor 6: 14-17, NIV)
It may not look that nice to “separate” from that which we have to,
But that is the truth.
Where is “Grace” then?
Truth and Grace go together, but Truth is not compromised for Grace
In the beginning, right at creation, God started separating one from the other; this is not something new
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2:37-41, NIV-emphasis added)
14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. (Phil 2: 14-16, NKJV)
Let “Pleasing Christ” become a priority in our life
Christ did not ask us to kill anybody; instead, he told us to “love our enemies”
So, pleasing Christ is not doing any harm to anybody personally
May God help you to focus on “pleasing Christ” today, and for the rest of your life
BG
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank you for your love, grace and truth. Help me to live a life that is pleasing to you more than living one that is pleasing to me. Amen