Pleasurable Smiles...

"For the LORD takes pleasure in His people;

He will beautify the humble with salvation"

Psalm 149:4 (NKJ)

To take pleasure in someone, means to derive joy, delight and enjoyment in everything that individual does.

When a husband says about his wife that "he takes pleasure in her"; he is in fact saying that he enjoys every single aspect of who she is. He takes pleasure from her eating, sleeping, talking, reading or simply just sitting still. This is what I believe God means when He says in the verse above that "For the LORD takes pleasure in His people."

God takes takes pleasure in everything we do (apart from sin), if we do like we are doing it for Him and doing it as an act of worship. He takes pleasure in our waking up, our eating, sleeping, singing, dancing, working, relationships and much more.

How can we make our daily activities an act of worship, that will bring pleasure to God and cause Him to smile?

When we engage in our daily activities or tasks, we must have God very much in mind. We can have at the back of our minds questions such as "Does this activity, for example eating, bring worship to God? Does the food I am consuming and how I am fueling and looking after my body, the temple of God, bring pleasure to God? Does it make God smile"?

What common, yet daily tasks can you start doing differently today, with God in mind?

To further learn how our daily activities can bring glory to God, we can learn from the life of Noah, Genesis 6. Noah's life was a life that brought pleasure to God, His life and the activities he engaged in, glorified God and made Him smile.

In the days of Noah, God could not find anyone on the earth who pleased Him. Man was consistently engaged in evil doings. It was so bad that God was sorry He ever made them, and said He was going to wipe man out. However, Noah, found favour with God. Genesis 6: 5- 8 (please read for emphasis). God found pleasure in Noah for he was the only blameless man living on earth at that time as we read in Genesis 6:9 which reads "This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God". God decided to start creation all again, and to start with Noah. He could not wipe out Noah, for he lived a life that pleased God. Can God say the same thing about us? Can God intervene in some crises happening because we are present and the grace He has over us helps to rectify the situation? (selah)

Here are five acts of worship we can learn from the life of Noah. Acts of worship that will bring pleasure to God and cause Him to smile.

We make God smile when we:

• Love Him supremely: Noah loved God, when no one else did as we read in Genesis 6:9 reads "This is the history of the generations of Noah. Noah was a just and righteous man, blameless in his [evil] generation; Noah walked [in habitual fellowship] with God. This is the most thing God wants from us. God made us to love us and longs for us to love us back. God wants to have a daily and continuous walk with us. He wants us to have a continuous and engaging relationship with Him, through conversations; from the moment we wake up to the time we go to sleep. God wants a relationship with us, a one to one relationship. He made us to love us and longs for us to love Him back. God is more interested in our relationships rather than our sacrifices as we read in 1 Samuel 15:22 "But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.




• Trust him completely: To trust God is to have faith in God. It is impossible to please God or make Him smile if we have no faith, as declared in Hebrews 11:6a which reads "And it is impossible to please God without faith..." By faith Noah built the ark ( a ship) in preparation for rain, even though there had never been any rain! Hebrews 11:7a reads "It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood...". Today, how many of us will trust God totally and completely with every area of our lives, even when He says to do things that makes no sense whatsoever! How many of us will do that? In what areas of our lives do we need to trust God completely, to bring Him pleasure and to make Him smile?
  



• Obey Him wholeheartedly: The dictionary defines wholeheartedly as - fully or completely sincere, enthusiastic and energetic. Noah obeyed God wholeheartedly, by following specific instructions. He did everything God commanded, as was confirmed in Genesis 6:22, which reads "So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.". When God tells us to do something, regardless how insane it might seem to us, our duty (out of love and obedience to Him) is to simply obey. We must be instant in our obedience. Instant obedience will teach us more about God than a whole lot of bible school will. Also, I believe (and have experienced) that instant obedience will further unlock understanding which will not be given to us otherwise. Delayed obedience, is still disobedience.
  

• When we thank and praise Him continuously: When the flood subsided and Noah embarked from the ark, his first act of worship on dry land was to offer a sacrifice of burnt offerings to God, and God was pleased, as we confirmed in Genesis 8: 20 - 21a, it reads "20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose. 21 And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice... It pleases God when we express our thanks to Him, for all that Has done, doing and for that which He has promised to do. As the Psalmist writes in Psalm 107:1, we must "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever".
  

• When we use our abilities: After the flood, in Genesis 8: 15-16, God said to Noah, "Be fruitful and increase the earth". God was telling Noah, to enjoy all that God has given Him and live a life He designed for Him. God wants us to get on with our life according to his Will for us. He wants us to do the things we have been specifically designed to do. He takes pleasure in it all. When we use our abilities, for His glory and to help those around us, it brings Him pleasure, it makes Him smile. If God created you with the gift of a writer, then write. If God created you to be a runner, then run to His glory. If God created you to be a tailor then sew the best designed pieces there is!
  
  

So, are you living a life that is pleasing to God? Does your everyday actions worship and make Him smile? What area of your life or activities you engage in, can be displayed as an act of worship to God?

I encourage us all to live out the very essence of our lives as an expression of worship to Almighty God. We should endeavour to make our every activity be impregnated with the knowledge of God, causing those activities to flow in seamless praise, and adoration to Him. For this will bring Him pleasure, make Him smile, and His glory will shine through us, whilst we make him famous as we live out the intricacies of each and every day.

Much love

Remi

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The Three Fold Cord: Fasting, Giving and Praying

Though one may be overpowered by another,

two can withstand him. And a threefold

cord is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:12

It is fair to say that most of us would have heard the verse above referred to, in the context of a marriage ceremony or around the meaning of what it means to work and walk together, in unity and strength as brothers and Sisters of God's kingdom.

However, I realise that this same 'three fold cord' principle can be applied to the three key disciplines expected of a believer - FASTING, GIVING AND PRAYING.

Fasting, Giving and Praying are key disciplines every believer must practise and often. It is expected of us. When we fast, give and pray - (all together), I believe it connects us to one another (through such things as interceding and helping the less privileged) and to God (humbling ourselves before Him and seeking His guidance).

Mathew 6:16, reads "And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get".

The operative word here is 'when', and I believe it means that - there will always come a time when the need for a fast (to humble ourselves before God, to get direction, wisdom and much more) will arise.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Reads (note verse 17) "16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

The operative word here is 'NEVER', which means "at no point in time" , which we can relate to the verse above as thus; "at no point in time, should we stop praying". At no point in time should we stop having conversations with God.

Mathew 6: 2 - 3 reads "2So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing..."

We see that word 'when' again, in this passage, and in the understanding of the word 'when', reading the passage above, it teaches us that we are expected to live a life of Giving, it is something we must do, continuously. We must help the poor or those less privilege, those in need of our help and much more. It also tells us how we should go about doing it.

I believe that when we operate the three fold cord of 'Fasting, Giving and Praying (together), NOTHING shall be impossible!.

So, are you feeling stuck in a rut, needing direction and focus

or wanting to know your very purpose on earth or

the season you are in? Why not seek God's guidance

in Fasting, Giving and Praying.

When we want to decipher how a new product that we have just purchased works, we either speak to the manufacturer (creator) or refer to the manual that comes along with the product. God is our maker, He created / invention us. If we need to know His will for our lives, to obtain clarity of purpose and focus or find out how to get out of a rut that we might be in, we need to ask Him, and read the life manual he wrote for us - The Bible

When we read Matthew 17: 20 - 21 (story about Jesus disciples not being able to cast out evil suicidal spirits in a boy, and the father of the boy brought him to Jesus for deliverance - please read the whole chapter for completion)

The passage reads: "20And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 21Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting

The key that unlocks the power of this passage is the word "Howbeit". Yes, the disciples of Jesus needed faith and the power (which had already been given to them by Jesus in Matthew 10) to cast out demons, but "howbeit - however or regardless" there are some type of demons (strongholds, blockages or curses) that cannot or will not be removed without fasting, giving and praying - done together.

Taking a step back, we must remember that not long before this incident took place, Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness (Mathew 4, please read for completion), whereby He prayed to the father also, and we know that His life was about giving and helping the people.

If Jesus Christ was able to accomplish all that

He came to earth to do without fasting,

praying and living a life of giving,

then why did He do them? Selah...

"Students are not greater than their teacher.

But the student who is fully trained

will become like the teacher"

Luke 6: 40

Could it be that we are missing the very reason or understanding of our purpose in life? Could it be that we are missing the very combination that will lead to that breakthrough that we desperately seek, because we fail to understand the importance and ramifications of the three fold cord of 'fasting, giving and praying'?

I envisage the ramifications of this three fold cord as the thirty fold, sixty fold and hundred fold return Jesus spoke about in Mark 4;8, 20 (please read for completion):

• When praying is a constant part of our lives, we can release the thirty fold return


• When praying and giving - together is a constant part of our life, we can release the sixty fold, and


• When praying, giving and fasting is a constant part of our lives, we an release the hundred fold return.

When we hunger for God He will fill us. When we make time for God, pray to Him, have conversations with us, He will hear us and reveal secret things to us. When we live a life of giving, we show the good and perfect nature of God displayed through us.

Sometimes, when we are disciplined enough to Fast, give and pray, continuously, and we don't see or sense that anything is happening, there is the tendency to get discouraged. However, we must not be. We must hold on to faith, hope and expectation that God is good, and He has answered our prayers and accepted our sacrifices and He will reward our diligence. It's all about timing, all about His time.

We can also learn and be encouraged from the faith of our forefathers, those that were here before us. They went through most, if not all that we are experiencing today.

In Psalm 35:13 -14 David the psalmist said "13 Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them. I denied myself by fasting for them, but my prayers returned unanswered. 14 I was sad, as though they were my friends or family, as if I were grieving for my own mother".

It was obvious David had not received the answers to his prayers, but he still waited on God in faith. Do not be weighed down with discouragement.

So, do you want to know the Will of God for you life? Do you seek a breakthrough in any particular area of your life? Do you want to do great and mighty great exploits as Jesus declared? Do you want to see changes in your life for good?

If so, why not weave up a three fold cord of Fasting, Giving and Praying, seeking God's help, wisdom, and knowledge; calling forth that breakthrough, giving you tremendous testimonies to strengthen your brethren, glorifying God's name, and making Him famous along your way.

Much Love

Remi

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