I Thessalonians 4:1
“Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, as you have received from us. This is how you already live, so you should do so all the more.”
To live in a manner pleasing to God is a universal question; one for all of time. This is different than having peace with God. Jesus provides that with His death on the cross. Once in this redeemed state we have access to our loving God and Father.
How do we live a life pleasing to God? Jesus reduced the Ten Commandments down to two, “And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF” (Matthew 22:37-39).
The Ten Commandments are split into two parts, to love God and to love people. To keep those are ways to live a life pleasing to God. Today we’ll focus on the first part, loving God. The commandments are in the negative, to avoid particular things: to worship God only, to avoid idols, to keep the sabbath, and not to demean God’s name.
We can see throughout the bible how people love God. David is an example. He wrote most of the psalms. They are love letters to God. They also deal with his pleas and prayers. He spent time in meditation and prayer.
Like David, we should be spending time with God in prayer and meditation. We are to “cast our cares upon Him. For He cares for us.” He wants us to open our hearts and bring our burdens to Him. This is when things become real. We aren’t to just recite previously written prayers. He knows our needs. It pleases the Lord when we bring them to Him.
In addition to allow Him to comfort and help us, He wants to guide us (Romans 8:14). It’s part of what it means for Jesus to be our lord (Romans 10:9). He will help us resolve problems in our lives and guide us in wonderful directions.
This is the first half of what it means to live a life pleasing to God. Thanks Lord for this. Help us to please You by loving You.