"Who R U Pleasing?"

"they (Israelites) pleased themselves” (Isaiah 2:6, KJV) Today we see our once great nation in danger of being completely turned away from God by many whose wicked desires are for us to become a godless, secular society. Interestingly, most Americans still claim to believe in God. In fact, most professing Christians claim they believe in God and the Bible— yet the problem is many simply don’t live what they profess! (i.e. there is little visible witness of God’s power at work, transforming their life and impacting the world around them). Del Fehsenfeld Jr. wrote in his book, Ablaze With His Glory, that, “perhaps nothing saps more vitality and power from the life of God’s people today than this relentless pursuit of pleasure. We have time for television, ballgames, movies, parties, vacations, sports and magazines. But we can’t find time to pray, to study God’s Word, to discipline our lives, to serve the Lord or to witness for Him...Happiness has replaced holiness as the ultimate goal of God’ s people.” Prophetically penned over seventeen years ago, Fehsenfeld’s words indeed hits the mark both then and now! Why are more and more Christian parents choosing Little League sports/games over mid-week church ministries / services; why are most church parking lots filled at concerts or food fellowships and near empty come time for prayer meeting or Bible study or even Sunday morning service; why do so many arise every day for work but we leave Sunday as the only day the claim to have to ‘sleep in;’ why do an increasing number of Christians watch TV shows and movies filled with gratuitous sex, violence and pagan storylines while having no sense of shame or conviction; why has the speech of so many believers become coarse / crude thereby leaving it to be irreverent to our precious witness of Christ; why has so many of today’s churches become “spiritual islands / bunkers” in the midst of the communities where God has planted them to go out into its fields and serve; and why are more people today seeing the Christian faith as “irrelevant” to the issues they are facing in life? The simple answer to all of these questions is that the true holiness of God and His eternal truth shared through His Word is not allowed by many believers to be treated as REAL, so if holiness/ truth is not completely real to all areas in the lives of His people, then how can Christ be believed to be REAL to others in the world around us who do not yet know Him? The Apostle Paul strongly exhorted the believers at Thessalonica to focus their lives on pleasing God - “We urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God!” (1 Thessalonians 4:1, NLT) Life’s journey is not about pleasing yourselves, nor is it to be about pleasing others – it is to be all about pleasing the God who created us and who loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us upon Calvary’s Cross! What truly pleases God is when His people live life’s journey in total faith (trust) to His Will His Way! So take a few moments and ask God to help you answer this question in full honesty, “Who am ‘I’ living to truly please? Myself? Others? Or God? More than ever, our nation needs to see Christians whose lives radiate the true righteous heart of God, lives that are completely surrendered to pleasing the One whose name we claim to bear! Do they see clearly see the One in whom YOU are living to please? That’s a divine question worthy of our heart’s answer today! …Selah!

Today's Spirit-led CCM video by David Crowder Band can be viewed by clicking on the song title, "O Praise Him" - G3 for such power songs with such powerful lyrics from His living, eternal truth!