Loving and praying for God’s pleasure.

1 John 3:21-22 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. We can be very encouraged today if we are living to love with Jesus. We are doing what God commanded us to do and as we abide in Jesus and love with Him, our heart does not condemn us. This gives us confidence before God in prayer. As we keep His commandments to believe in Jesus (John 14:1) and love as Jesus loves (John 13:34), John wrote here that whatever we ask, we receive from Him since we are doing what pleases Him. Implied in this verse is that we are asking God for what we need to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. We can expect God to be faithful and give the grace or material supplies to show His love. If we are intending to love with Jesus and ask along that line, we may be confident that we will receive what our brothers in Christ need. The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians in his second letter that the believer’s ambition is to please God. He wrote in 2 Cor. 5:9-10, “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” Do you see the connections between what Paul and John wrote? We have confidence before God when we come to stand in the judgment because we do what pleases Him, namely, obeying His commandments to believe in Jesus and love with Him. Paul later said that the love of Christ controls us in our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ (2 Cor. 5:14). That’s what John wrote in this chapter to encourage the saints. If you love your brother, you are doing what pleases God, and therefore you have confidence to stand before Him. I hope these words encourage you today to walk in love with Jesus, for His pleasure. When you need help loving, don’t hesitate to approach God’s throne of mercy and grace to ask for whatever you need to love whoever He puts in your path today. Whatever you ask so you can love for God’s glory, you will receive. Please join me in prayer. Father, thank You that we can count on Your faithfulness to supply everything we need to love with Jesus for Your glory. Fill us with Your Spirit so we can live out of His fulness, in Jesus’ name. Amen.