Prayer
Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your sense of anticipation that God is about to speak to you through His Word. Then, before you read, I invite you once again to pray this prayer based on Psalm 73:24-26,
Lord, whom have I in heaven but you? No one!
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and heart may fail me,
but You give Life to my body and soul.
Guide me with Your counsel now, I pray. Amen.
Reading
The longer we journey through this year of focussing on “all that Jesus commanded us” the more amazed I am at how frequently Jesus taught the same spiritual principle as being absolutely central to the Christ-following life. Yet again, here in John 8, Jesus reveals that this is the principle by which he lived too. Here it is …
‘I always do what pleases him.’
In context, Jesus was telling his adversaries that the greatest evidence of His commitment to the Father’s will would be His crucifixion – His being “lifted up”. Neither the threat of death, nor even His actual execution would be capable of derailing Jesus from His total commitment to speaking the exact words the Father gave Him to speak and to doing exactly what would please the Father.
Jesus was absolutely committed to pleasing the Father, even when pleasing Him meant aggravating those who were out to kill Him. He was committed to the Father and to delighting Him by His obedience, even to the point of being willing to be killed rather than turn away from the Father’s will.
Jesus lived to please the Father. He longed to please the Father infinitely more than He desired for others to like Him or accept Him, and infinitely more than He desired comfort in this life. In fact, He desired the Father’s pleasure even more than life itself. Bringing the Father pleasure outweighed absolutely every other consideration.
Will you be brave enough to pray for the same fire of desire to be kindled in your heart? Pray for me to be brave enough to truly pray for this, and I will pray for you too.
Contemplation
Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn this declaration over and over in your mind. Keep it in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ:
- I will strive, in the power of the Spirit, always to do what is pleasing to The LORD.
Holy Spirit, kindle in me the same passion that was in my Saviour Jesus – the all-consuming passion to be pleasing to my God and Father. Amen.
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