“If only I could have this on a note hanging in front of me, I would remember to do it.” This is often my thought related to ways I know I should think and act, but I just forget.

Each day, we have countless opportunities to show honor to God in our thoughts and actions. Sometimes I wonder how the Israelites even managed just one day trying to remember all the rules they had to follow. Their failing emphasizes to me how on our own we can never be good enough for God. We need Jesus as our savior.

The Holy Spirit encourages me: loving Jesus translates to desiring to serve him. It is not a matter of lists to check off in my attitude and actions. Rather, it is a mindset of how I can please the Lord and honor him. Jesus says that I will demonstrate my love for him by obeying him.

To use a picture of marriage - each spouse starts off fully in an attitude of love, wanting to please the other person in order to demonstrate his or her value. As newlyweds, we learn what our spouse is like and what our spouse’s likes are. In a relationship with the Lord, we learn what he is like through the study of his Word, where he reveals himself to us.

As I study and meditate on God’s Word more deeply, my heart will become more intent on pleasing him. With this, it should not be a matter of reminding myself to do what is right, because the Holy Spirit will already be at work in me, cultivating the soil for godly fruit in my life.

Jesus is the King, and he deserves all my adoration! I want to give him this, what he deserves. Each day I need to make the choice to submit to him in honor. I need, and want, to commit to having his will be done, not mine. Being stubborn and insubordinate demonstrates that I am not completely aligned with his will. I am grateful for God’s mercy to me, and I am so appreciative of his patience that leads me to repentance. Jesus allows me more time to grow closer to him and to serve him faithfully in love and respect.

Praise the name of the Lord Most High! What an honor to serve him.