Monday, December 4, 2017

Make My Day

Is there anything better than an old school Clint Eastwood movie??  He’s so quotable but my all-time favorite line is, “Go ahead, make my day!”  Well, the things that make Harry Callahan’s day and the things that make God’s day are definitely not the same.  Fortunately, God doesn’t leave us guessing as to what makes His day.  The even better news is that it is well within our ability to put a smile on God’s face! Let’s look at our Scripture below and see just what makes God’s day.

Psalm 147:11
The LORD is pleased with those who worship Him and trust His love.

Things to think about:
·      I’m re-reading The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.  Like many of you, I first read it when it was published several years ago when many churches got organized around 40 Days of Purpose.    
·      Day 9 is titled “What Makes God Smile?” 
o   Pastor Rick states that our first purpose is to please God.  This chapter is on how to do that.  He uses Noah as an example who did this very well.  For more on this, see our study back in January, Yes and Noah.
·      Looking at our verse from Psalm 147, we see that there are two primary avenues that are pleasing to God:
o   Worship Him
o   Trust in His love
·      Worship
o   When you hear the word “worship”, what first comes to your mind?
§  a certain song or maybe style of music?
§  prayer
§  meditation
§  thanksgiving
o   Worship is actually so much more than these things!
§  Worship is giving to God every moment, thought, word, action to please Him
§  Romans 12:1 (Message) – “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. “
§  What are everyday, ordinary life ways you can think of to worship God?
·      At work, at home, at church, in your neighborhood
·      Which of your talents can be used to worship God?
·      How do we sometimes NOT worship God in our everyday, ordinary lives?
o   Trust in His love
§  God put a stake in the ground (literally a cross) to show YOU how much He loves YOU
·      For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
§  How can we show God that we trust in His love for us?
·      Obedience is the key here.  Our sin nature and the world around us conspire to pull us away from trusting in His love for us.
·      What are things you can think of right now that would clearly demonstrate to God your trust in His love?
o   Forgiving someone as He has forgiven you – Eph. 4:32
o   Giving back a portion of what He has given you – Deut. 16:17
o   Loving His children to show unity to the outside world – John 17:23
o   Reallocating your schedule to make more time for God’s priorities – Hebrews 4:9
o   Spending less time worrying about things and more time thanking Him for already handling it – Psalm 55:22
·      What if anything is holding you back?

So let’s make God’s day today by worshipping Him with our very lives and trusting in His love for us by being obedient to the better things He has commanded us to do.

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