Living in His Pleasure

 Living in His Pleasure

Sunday, August 29, 2021

I’ve been reading and thinking in Galatians, and was wondering about Paul’s questions: “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men?” (Galatians 1:10 NAS95). It’s as if this is an either/or. Either I can seek the favor of men, or I can seek the favor of God. But what if the answer to these questions is all “No”? I am not striving to please men, or God. I’m simply living in God’s pleasure. A later verse in this chapter says, “God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me”.. (15-16). It may be that Paul is more focused on living in God’s pleasure than worrying about whether he is pleasing God or not.

Now certainly the Bible says quite a bit about pleasing God: “One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured by her.” (Ecclesiastes 7:26 NAS95); and “those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”(Romans 8:8 NAS95); and “so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects,”(Colossians 1:10 NAS95). But I wonder if we haven’t emphasized our role in pleasing God above the privilege of living in His pleasure. It may be that living in His pleasure is the best path to living and doing things that are pleasing to Him.

Certainly the Gospel emphasis of the New Testament emphasizes the grace of God over against the works of men. Now people who are saved by grace through faith see their lives producing fruit that is pleasing to God, but the foundation, the root of the fruit is not our efforts and designs, but rather God’s design and mission in Christ. 

If you are a child of God through faith in Christ, then when you woke up this morning, you were already living in His pleasure, waking up in His pleasure, swinging your feet out of bed in His pleasure. He is pleased with you in Christ. And that is no blind pleasure. He is not just pleased with Christ and then you in the aggregate. No, He is pleased with you particularly and personally, and His pleasure in You will shape all that happens to you today and forever. 

Now, in light of that, should we live for His pleasure? Sure. But “in His pleasure” precedes “for His pleasure.” There is no weight on your shoulders. Rather, there is a joyful energy in your heart, there by the Holy Spirit who pours out the love of God on us and in us. 

Rest - Just Ahead

 Rest - Just Ahead

Sunday, August 22, 2021

On the freeway, there are lots of signs. Green signs. Yellow signs. Orange signs (lots of orange signs). But the ones I like best are the blue ones. They may direct to a number of services, but my favorite is “Rest Area.” 

Sadly, I don’t stop much in rest areas these days. They have become known as places where panhandlers accost travelers with sad stories, to which the solution is always your money. Or, police have to make extra stops because of reported, perverse activities. Sinful humanity can take the park-iest of places and turn it into a wilderness. 

But for the road-weary traveller, just a place to pull in and take a break can be most helpful. Many people need a chance to walk the dog, or themselves. Truckers pull in and lean back or dive in the bunk for a nap or a night’s rest. Yes, rest. That’s what this place promises.

Jesus says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) Let’s review how this rest works for the Christian.

First, there is rest from the futile effort to earn our salvation. It can’t be done, like climbing an infinite ladder. No, God reversed that action, so that He reached down to us to offer us the free gift of salvation in Christ. We can rest from pretending to be our own saviors.

Second, there is future rest, when we will be fully and finally delivered from the presence and power of sins in our lives, and from the sin of the world. We will be delivered from the affects of sin, such as pain, and discord. We will rest in righteousness, not only a personal righteousness through faith in Christ, but in a righteousness that is the rule and order of the knew cosmos.

But third, there is rest from our current situation; from the tensions that continually mark our lives. We battle moment by moment with the tension between flesh and Spirit. We are beset with temptations. We struggle to pray, and to know how to pray. We make judgements to do what is right, only to find that there was a better way. We are prone to discouragement. 

But, we can find rest and renewal. It comes from devotion and fellowship. It comes from the “deep breath” of the Spirit working to revive once again the weary soul. Rest - Just Ahead

Rights and Wrongs

 Rights and Wrongs

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 NAS95)

Life is full of judgment calls. We make decisions all the time, often not knowing if what we choose is good, better or best; or, bad, worse, or worst-est. Many of these judgments fall between broad principles, leaving freedom to choose one way or the other. It’s not necessarily a difference of being righteous or sinful. But, with regard to some of these decisions, we will look back with thankfulness; with regard to others, with regret.

It is interesting to track the life stories of people who have chosen/judged well. Some have been frugal with their money and good at saving, giving the ability late in life to enjoy the freedom of traveling and ministering to others, at no cost to others. Some have taken care of their health so that they continue to be able to move about freely. Everyone knows that there are some, in this unpredictable world, who have saved well, and lost it all; or eaten well, and still been stricken with disease or injury. We make our decisions within small orbs of influence, knowing that we do not control the larger atmosphere around us. And those decisions often make a difference.

We know that for those who exercise good judgment, good results often follow, though not always. We also know that those who have a habit of making lousy decisions, – rarely, very rarely, do they escape the consequences. So we try and do well, even though others would no doubt have chosen otherwise.

Our decisions affect not only ourselves and our loved ones, but others as well. A pastor makes judgment calls concerning the care of the congregation, as well as initiatives and priorities. Some decisions are good. A few are right on. Others, we could wish it had been done differently. But certainly those decisions affect many people or groups of people in many different ways.

We must all be careful of our motives. Those who are more conservative (risk-averse) may be that way primarily to protect their comfort. That sets up for poor judgment calls. Others are much more anxious to be aggressive, but it may not be due to insight as much as a willingness to try something new at the expense of that which is old (or, those who are old). Our judgments are often compromised by our motives, and betray what we think is excellent reasoning.  And when will we know for sure which judgments are best? Perhaps not until Jesus comes again.