How to please the Lord

Did you know that we are able to please the Lord?

Psalm 147:11 says,

The Lord is pleased with those who respect him, with those who trust His love.

This post will concentrate on the ending of the verse:  "God is pleased with those who trust in His love."  I find this verse to be quite beautiful, profound and freeing.  What does this love that He asks us to trust in look like?  For starters:

• Christ died for us because He first Loved US (I John 4:19)
• For God so LOVED the world that he gave His one and only Son (John 3:16)
• HIS LOVE is patient, kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not self-seeking, it keeps no record of wrong, it always hopes, trust and perseveres. (I Corinthians 13:4-7)
• God is slow to anger and abounding in LOVE (Exodus 34:6)

So to please the Lord we have to trust in His incredible love.  Here are verses, just from the Psalms, which share the blessings that God has for us when we trust in Him:

Psalm 9:10

Those who know the Lord trust him, because He will not leave those who come to Him.

Psalm 18:30

He is a shield to those who trust Him.

Psalm 28:7

 I trust Him, and He helps me.

Psalm 32:10

The Lord's love surrounds those who trust Him.

Psalm 34:22

No one who trusts Him will be judged guilty.

Psalm 37:5

Depend on the Lord; trust Him, and He will take care of you.

Psalm 37:9

Those who trust the Lord will inherit the land.

Psalm 112:7

They won't be afraid of bad news; their hearts are steady because they trust the Lord.

Psalm 125:1

Those who trust the Lord are like Mount Zion, which sits unmoved forever.

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.  In order to please Him, we get to trust in His incredible LOVE.  And then as an added bonus, God throws in an abundance of blessings when we trust in Him: we will not be moved, we can stand confident, He will be our shield, protector and helper.

Beloved, whether we acknowledge it or not we do place our trust in something everyday. May this be what we choose to say everyday:

Psalm 20:7

Some trust in chariots, others in horses, but we trust the Lord our God.

In Christ,

2 Quotes to Remember

A while back I shared a book review on Costly Grace a modern rewrite of Bonhoeffer's Cost of Discipleship.  The following is 2 quotes I wrote down from the book (I forgot to write down the page reference, whoops).  These quotes clearly articulate the prayer of my heart for the modern-day church in America:

Our good behavior - and the example we set by keeping the rules - are nothing more than by-products of our intimate connection with Jesus.  But because we get this backwards - preaching and teaching people to focus on their behavior instead of their Savior - we have congregations full of people who deny the power of Jesus in their lives.

By consistently and systematically telling people the goal is to be good rather than obedient, we have created a Christianity without Christ.  We preach an anemic Christianity that suggests behavior is more powerful than the blood of Jesus and that our righteous influence comes from the rules we keep, instead of the power of God Almighty flowing through us!!!!!!

That really says it all for me.  It's about Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.  It's only through knowing Him and following His lead that we can do anything in this world. 

In Christ,

P.S. I recently finished listening to a series by Mosaic called a Stranger in a Strange Land. It is a 9-part series all about Jesus and all of His "I AM" statements: I am the Bread of Life, I am the Ressurection and the Life, I am the Good Shephard, etc. I enjoyed listening to the series all about Jesus and who He says He is and the power He holds to change our lives.

Book Review: Unleashed

I recently had the opportunity to do a book review on Unleashed by Erwin Raphael McManus.  This is the first book that I have read by Erwin.  This book is actually a re-release of a book formerly titled, "The Barbarian Way."  The forward stated that it ended up being promoted as a for men only book, which wasn't his intention.

A brief description:
Unleashed gives a call to escape a tame Christianity and become original, powerful, untamed Christians—just as Christ intended.

What is my criteria for a good book?  For me, it is a book that increases my love for Jesus, and it encourages me to boldly step forth in the things God has placed within me.  This book did both of those things and therefore, I consider it a good book.

While, the barbarian metaphor didn't necessarily work for me, the overall content and the heart of the book ministered to me.  If you think Christianity, is merely sitting in a pew every Sunday and you don't want Jesus to invade the rest of your life, you will not want to read this book.  However, if you feel like the circumstances of life have clouded  your faith, vision and desire to go hard after the things of God and you want/need a jumpstart for your heart, this book would be a great start. 

In Christ,

Jaime


PS. I received this book free from Booksneeze.  All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.  I am an Amazon associate so if by chance someone would purchase the book through my link, I will someday, maybe receive a tiny compensation for that.

Sanctified Together: Running Barefoot

If you have a couple extra minutes today please stop by Sanctified Together and read my article: Running Barefoot.  For those of you who have been with me awhile, yes, you have read this before.  It is actually one of my favorite articles, not because I think it is exceptionally well-written, but rather because the metaphor has provided a great reminder for my mind over the last couple of years.  As my children get older, I become increasingly aware of the impact my marriage has on their foundations.  Our society, through TV, media and even friends at times, does not feel the need to protect marriage over individual "rights," needs and desires.  We need to be reminded that fighting for our marriages is vitally important especially for the spiritual health of our kids.  So enjoy reading, Running Barefoot.

In Christ,

The Power of the Blood

If you've read my blog for a while you have probably gathered that one of my favorite Bible verses is:

Hebrews 4:16

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace

with confidence,

so that we may receive mercy and

 find grace to help us in our time of need.



A couple weeks ago, I came to a deeper appreciation and understanding of why we can enter God's presence with confidence; it is because of the power of the blood.  I was reading in the book Birthright: Out of the Servant's Quarters into the Father's house by John Sheasby (which, by the way, is a book I recommend) and he brought up a passage of Scripture that somehow had never registered in my mind before.  It was from Exodus 24.  Moses is about to establish the first covenant with the people, by the sprinkling of the blood.  See what happens:

Exodus 24:6-11

Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls,

and the other half he splashed against the altar.

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people.

They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.”

Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said,

“This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD

has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 

and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like

a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. 

 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites;

they saw God, and they ate and drank.

This has been sinking in for weeks and I am still in awe of it.  Be mindful that this is the first covenant, this was only the blood of animals that allowed this to take place: because of the blood, 74 people were able to come into the presence of God and not only see Him but eat and drink with Him.  I think God was so excited back then that He was willing to give Israel a little taste of what the future would hold for the people of God.

Hebrews 10:19-25

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence

to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 

 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,

and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings,

 having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and

having our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 

 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,

not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,

but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Beloved, God has made a way for us to draw near to Him, to come into His presence whenever we are in need and it has absolutely nothing to do with our worthiness nor does our unworthiness prevent us from this gift.  The power of the blood of Jesus Christ, His once and for all sacrifice has made the way.  I pray that you are not missing out on the benefits of being in God's presence due to a lack of understanding or confidence in the new covenant, the power of the blood and the blessings that come with it.

In Christ,