“So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” – Colossians 1:10

Once you’ve been saved as a gift of God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, your life must change. God loves you and meets you wherever you are, but He calls every one of His children to change dramatically. If Jesus is your Lord, then you must commit to living each day in a manner worthy of your holy, righteous, perfect, gracious, gentle, loving, humble, glorious Lord and Savior!

Are you living a life pleasing to Jesus? Is each moment of each day, whether public or private, pleasing to Jesus? Hopefully you’re honest enough to say, “No!” Nonetheless, the power of Christ at work in you means that day after day, year after year, you should be living in a way that’s increasingly pleasing to Jesus. If you aren’t, you need to change your way of life!

At the heart of a life pleasing to Jesus we find two qualities highlighted in this verse. One is bearing the fruit of Christ as you do all the good things you’re called to do. Every Christian has good work prepared by God for them to do. You have work to do to make disciples, introduce people to Jesus, and help people live a life more pleasing to Jesus. You have worship to offer, praise to give, and love to show toward others. There is work of mercy, help, teaching, sacrifice, and generosity awaiting your attention. Be faithful and diligent in doing this good work and bearing fruit for Christ.

The second is increasing in your knowledge of God. Feed your mind with the Word of God and the truth of God. Read or listen to the Bible daily. Think about what you’ve read or heard carefully. Find good Bible teaching and learn from it. Feed your soul through greater fellowship with God. Devote more time to prayer. Enjoy more times of private and public worship. Be silent before the Lord. In all these ways, you will come to know Him more fully. Please the Lord by the way you live every day!

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” – Galatians 5:1

Our ultimate freedom is found in Christ. For our sake, He suffered, died, and rose from death to set all who believe in Him free from the suffocating power of sin, evil, and death. In this every believer in Jesus should rejoice every single day!

However, it is also appropriate and good to remember that the earthly freedom we are privileged to enjoy by God’s providence in this country was purchased with the blood of men and women across centuries. Give thanks for those who gave their all so we could enjoy a far greater measure of earthly freedom than most who’ve ever walked the earth. Do not take their sacrifice for granted and don’t let it have been in vain.

We have been set free – spiritually and physically. Rejoice in this truth, but understand the heavy responsibility that comes with such freedom. Use your spiritual and earthly freedom well! Use it for God’s glory and the good of others. Don’t voluntarily let go of the freedom others died to purchase. Have a blessed Memorial Day and be a blessing to those around you!

“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” – Luke 6:35

Jesus isn’t making a suggestion here! This is how Jesus treated you. When you were an enemy of God, stuck in your sins, and opposed to God’s will and design for your life, Jesus gave Himself completely for you. He loved you, suffered for you, and died for you so that the penalty for your sins would be paid off. There was nothing transactional about it – at that point you had nothing to offer Jesus. He did it as an act of grace to be received through faith in Him. Now Jesus commands and expects His followers to do the same.

Followers of Jesus are the sons and daughters of God, the Most High which means this command applies to every Christian. All of them. Not just particular “super-Christians”. Every Christian. If you’re a follower of Jesus, you must love your enemies. Not just in a vague and general sense of positive vibes toward faceless enemies far away. You must love the people you truly don’t like. You’re to “lend” with generosity even if you suspect you’re being taken advantage of. This runs opposite of common sense, but so did the cross!

In Christ, God acted in kindness, grace, and mercy toward people who absolutely didn’t deserve it. He acted sacrificially and lovingly toward people who were not only ungrateful, but deeply invested in sin, guilt, selfishness, and shameful behavior. If you’re now an adopted child of God, He expects you to do the same. The encouragement is that there are eternal rewards for those who answer this hard command of Christ. Your reward will be great – not in this life, but in eternity to come. Love and do good to your enemies!

“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:14

Sometimes the awfulness of what’s happening in the world makes it hard to keep going… Another horrific mass murder of children. Another wave of illness. More stories of atrocities committed in far-off wars. The betrayal of trust and abuse of power by leaders of churches and denominations. What can those whose hearts have been made tender by the Holy Spirit do in the face of such enormous, widespread, overwhelming evil???

Press on. Like Paul writing from prison, press on, Christian! Know that better times lie ahead – for every believer and for this world that will one day be renewed in Christ. Press on with the sacred work God has given you to do. Glorify Him. Worship Him. Make disciples of Jesus. Introduce people to the Savior Who understands suffering and evil because He suffered to conquer evil. Encourage other believers to press on and become more like Jesus. Press on.

Rather than become overwhelmed by the magnitude of evil all around, press on in the goodness and greatness of Christ within you. Press on with the Kingdom work that’s right in front of you. Press on loving God and loving your neighbors. Press on in being the hands and feet of Christ in this broken, sinful world. Press on until that glorious day when you take hold of the prize forever in the visible presence of God and Jesus and they say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”!

“In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.” – Luke 6:12

When it was time to make the critical decision regarding which of His disciples should be sent out as apostles, Jesus spent the night in prayer and solitude. The sinless Son of God Who enjoyed perfect fellowship with God the Father spent the entire night in prayer!

How much more should we, His imperfect followers, devote to prayer? Yet we often struggle to sustain more than a few minutes of prayer before our mind or attention wanders. How much greater impact could we have for God’s Kingdom if we slowed down and were willing to spend entire nights in prayer? Most Western Christians like prayer, but we don’t really “get” it. We don’t understand how to be still and silent before the Lord. We don’t understand how to speak and listen, how to pray Scripture, praise, ask, and give thanks. We don’t have the patience, tenacity, or comprehension to devote hours and hours to prayer.

No doubt Jesus spent hours praying about which disciples to appoint as apostles, but He probably spent even more hours in prayer lifting each of them to God. Jesus understood the power of prayer and the power of interceding in prayer for others. We’re surrounded by darkness and everyone struggles at times. Prayer is our greatest tool and weapon in the spiritual battle we’re engaged in. It’s our all-access pass to the Almighty Creator of the Universe. Through prayer we can seek God’s will, receive His help, and enlist Him in supporting, strengthening, and protecting our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Do you value prayer the way Jesus did? Do you devote hours, days, or nights to it? If not (and most of us don’t), what will you do to create protected, undistracted, focused time with God in prayer? What will you do to deepen your understanding and practice of prayer? What will you do to make prayer a priority as it was for Jesus?