Pleasing the Father

Jesus said, "I always do the things that are pleasing to my Father." (John 8:28 ) The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul tells us, "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." (Colossians 1:9) I can honestly say that there are many believers who truly crave living the kind of life that is always pleasing to our Heavenly Father. However, it does not come simply because it is a craving or desire. It comes with a cost. Although, in the Father's eyes, by being born again, we are pleasing to Him, still, in order to have a deeper walk with the Master, we must look to God's Word. There we find how to live a life that is pleasing to the Father in all that we do.

The Apostle Paul reveals things that the believer must do to have that deeper walk with the Lord. There is a "putting off and a putting on" by faith, the old sinful, fallen, demonic nature that we all had prior to our conversion in Christ. Paul tells us, "Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth…" (Colossians 3:5) "...and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him." (Colossians 3:10) "...be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:23-24) Believers, by faith, are to put off the old man, and by virtue of being a new creation in Christ, we are to put on the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.

We see, the new man was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Unfortunately, many believers are kept from coming to a true liberating sense of their new creation identity because they are fed a diet of sermons that promote guilt, condemnation, unworthiness and or inferiority rather than righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Not only this, but some believers continue to look at their past sins and or failures and then inflict themselves with the same. Paul exhorts us to, "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ." (Colossians 2:11) "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2) "casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5)

We do these things through the Word of God. The Apostle Paul tells us, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Colossians 3:16) Look what the Word of God is doing in the believe as we look to it. It is releasing God's wisdom, as well as teaching and admonishing us and most importantly, it also increases our faith, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) 

As our faith grows, believers who have struggled with the old nature will find that their recreated spirit will dispossess the old man with all the condemnation, guilt, inferiority as well as the arguments and thoughts that have permitted the condemnation, guilt, inferiority to have place. Look what our Father says concerning the believer, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10) The New Living Translation says it this way, "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:10) 

God has prepared every believer to walk in His will. His ability has been given to every believer. His strength is at our disposal. The good deeds that He would have us perform are within the range of our ability, that is, the ability that He has given to us. "[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight." (Philippians 2:13 (AMP) "Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]." (Ephesians 3:20 AMP) Let us allow the Word of God go to work in and through us renewing our mind and increasing our faith. The more we do, to more we will be living in this wonderful realm of grace pleasing the Father in all we do. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all...