God's Pleasure

Twice in Ephesians 1 Paul references "God's Pleasure". (1:5,9). The Almighty God takes pleasure in forgiving His choice creation. He takes pleasure in adopting us into the family, blessing us with every spiritual blessing, and giving us the Spirit to witness with us that we belong to Him. The Father took pleasure in giving the Son to be the sacrifice of atonement for mankind. He takes pleasure in welcoming the prodigal home, in setting the leper free, in delivering the demon possessed. Christ manifested this pleasure in the many acts of compassion, power, and mercy He displayed during His ministry. Christ was pleased to offer the woman at the well living water. He took pleasure in setting Legion free from the hoard of demons. Jesus said the Father loves, takes pleasure, in giving good gifts to His children. We don't need to beg, fret, fear, or bargain with our Father, we must trust. He is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Want To

I was reading Oswald Chambers and he stated that Jesus lives to change our 'want to.' This is the heartbeat of the gospel. From a self centered existence to a life that is submissive to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Want to is the bottom line. Desire is king and when push comes to shove, if our heart has not been transformed, we won't want to follow Jesus. May our 'want to' be transformed so that our heart's desire is to please Jesus Christ. Awakening to each day with a single agenda, to live a life worthy of Christ. There is a list of things that can rival that desire. May the desire of our daily journey be Christ centered. It is a high calling, an awesome privilege, and a great responsibility. The sanctified, Spirit filled life is at the heart of having a different 'want to.'