LIVING TO PLEASE THE LORD


     "Again the Israelites did evil in the Lord ’s sight. They served ...the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. They abandoned the Lord and no longer served him at all. So the Lord burned with anger against Israel, and he turned them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites, who began to oppress them that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites east of the Jordan River in the land of the Amorites (that is, in Gilead)."Judges 10:6‭-‬8 NLT Bible

    The Israelites were considered as God's special people by reason of his covenant with Abraham . Abraham is known as the father of faith : the quintessential role model to the three major monotheistic religions  Christianity , Islam and Judaism because of his devotion to God . He was willing to sacrifice Isaac his pride and joy as a demonstration of his love and faith in God . 

    It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”  (Gen 21;12) Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

"Hebrews 11:17‭-‬19 NLT. Through Abraham's example we learn that God owns the universe and he determines how we should live our lives and as such, living to please him should be our topmost priority. Any position contrary to this is referred to as idol worship . An idol is anything that has taken the place of fellowship with God's people , winning souls for God's kingdom, private and Congregational worship, teaching of the gospel . We spend more of time and our resources on what we idolise. 

    The Israelites became victims of repeated oppression , misery and lost their battles as a result of idol worship . "So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have '..nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming."
Colossians 3:5‭-‬6 NLT Bible Idolatry hinders faith and without faith it is impossible to please God. 
   The spirit-led believer is always conscious of God's presence ,sees himself or herself as a representative of God's kingdom and an embodiment of the gospel. He or  she is an inspiration to those who desire to follow the lord.  
   When the Israelites turned back to God in true repentance and put aside their idols , the lord delivered them from their enemies. (Judges 10:15-16) In our daily prayers we should ask the Lord to intensify our passion for his kingdom and spend more time in studying scriptures .
Prayer : Heavenly Father forgive me of my  sins against you I believe Jesus Christ died and was raised again for my salvation I receive him as lord and saviour and receive the Holy Ghost and zeal for kingdom advancement. 
+2348035536911 +2348098536911 email michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com 

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