Day of Praise

Thur, 04/12/18, Easter Day #12, "Day of Praise"

Colossians 1:9-10 - "And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

I remember getting tickled once. I drove past a church sign that on two lines read, "Is your life pleasing to God?" And then on the next line, it said, "Zumba - Wednesday 7:30." You can do all sorts of things with the sequence on the sign, but when I first read it driving by, it sounded as if a Zumba exercise class was their suggestion for pleasing God. So I chuckled.

Setting all humor aside, today's verses from Colossians are amongst sixty or so Bible verses that tell us what does and does not please God about our lives. In sum, God is pleased with our lives when we walk with Him and therefore walk in His blessings and from the overflow of blessings, we bear the fruit of sharing Him with others.

Walking with God is not difficult. Walking with God means surrendering to the faithful work of God's Holy Spirit so that we:
1) have faith in Christ, (both in Him personally and in His saving work),
2) listen for Christ's voice (for example, daily Bible reading, prayer, and at least weekly worship), and
3) look for Christ, (for example, look for the many daily chances to serve him by serving other people in WORDS AND DEEDS with God's love).

The result of such a walk with God, according to today's verses, is that we are:
1) filled with Christ and, therefore, his spiritual wisdom and power,
2) increasing in the knowledge of God, and
3) bearing fruit in every good work.
In sum, we are blessed. The result of walking with God is that we are blessed in such a way that we become a blessing to others, a living invitation to Christ for others, and a glory to God.

To bring it full circle, when, through faith in Him, we are a blessing to others and a glory to God, then God is pleased indeed.

Praise God!