"You make known to me the path of life; You fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand." (Psalm 16:11, NIV)
This time reading Psalm 16, I wondered, How much "pleasure" do I have in Jesus Christ, His Church, His Kingdom, and what Wesley called, "the means of grace," viz., prayer, Bible reading, service in His Church and Kingdom, in short, doing the will of, "Our Father Who is in Heaven"?
For many religious people, it is unspiritual to speak of, "pleasure," but there it is, in our text today, in the Bible. So much of "pleasure" carries the connotation of sin, something to be shunned. Yet, when we face reality, much of our praying is the pursuit of pleasure, e.g., health for our bodies, provision (or the bad word, prosperity), a vocation which we actually enjoy (The Bible says that there is no greater blessing), the salvation of family and friends.
Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you , My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you." Whatever "peace" one may think he derives from, "the world," it is not pleasurable. Most of what appears to be so comes back in the form of pain, regret. Not so the, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you." Jesus' Peace is indeed the, "peace which passes all understanding," Yet, do we not know how pleasurable is Jesus' Peace?
Maybe today we need to ask ourselves just what "pleasures" are we seeking? You know as well as I that, "eternal pleasures," cannot be compared with whatever counterfeit pleasure the world offers, those of which Hebrews 11 speaks, "pleasures of sin for a season." What I "received" today is that, "the path of life," in Jesus Christ, "joy in Your presence," in Jesus Christ, are the root of, "eternal pleasures," in Jesus Christ. "Walk on."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that you are the only One Who can bring pleasure. Forgive me when I have attempted to find "pleasure" elsewhere. Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
