From:
Date: October 11, 2019
Subject: It's October 11; Good Morning Union
“Find out what pleases the Lord.” Ephesians 5:10
I really liked that sentence when I read it this morning! Chapter 5 contains more ideas of what it means to “live a life worthy of the calling,” that I looked at yesterday. Some of it’s negative; some positive. I hear too much of the negative; I figure if I focus on what is good, I won’t have time to worry about what is bad!
Paul says, “Live as children of the light,” and the, of course, he defines what he means by adding, “for the fruit of the light consists in
And then my verse for today, “Find out what pleases the Lord.” When I realize how much my wife loves me, it motivates me to “find out what pleases her!” I don’t want to hurt her; I don’t want to do anything that would make her sad; I like to do what pleases her because I see her love for me! And so it is with God.
This chapter even has the current culturally challenging verses about “wives, submit to your husbands.” Beside the fact that a few verses later Paul says he’s not really talking about husbands and wives as much as it is talking about Christ and the church, the illustration still has some very meaningful application. The follow up to “wives, submit to your husbands,” is “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church.” Without going into all the difficulties in applying this husband-wife relationship to all relationships in this world, I’m guessing that even wives would not have a very hard time “submitting,” whatever that means in our culture today, to a husband who loved them as much as Christ loves His church- to the point of giving His life for it! I don’t want to get hung up on headship- I would however suggest to all the guys- be developing right now a love like Christ’s so the ladies can find someone they might safely “submit” to!
Love changes me; I don’t change me; God’s love changes me. What I found pleases God is my willingness to accept that!
Have a great day developing your own Christ-like love,
Pastor Rich
Quote for the day: “The object of all ministry is to keep self out of sight, and to let Christ appear.” EGW
PS Family Worship – Parent’s weekend. Join us for an evening of music and testimonies by our school family. See you in the church at 7:30
PPS Afterglo- In the church lobby right after Family Worship, hosted by Amber and her Human Development friends.