Faith

Hebrews 11:6 says, "And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him."

Why is it that so many of us know this in our minds, know this as such a foundation's element of the life of a Christ follower, yet with our hearts and our actions, still try to please God with our actions. How many of us have even gotten involved in ministries because we thought it was our "Christian duty" and we thought that if we did this for God, then he'd be happy with us and smiling at us.

The longer I live for Christ (9 years as of Oct. 27) the more I realize that this theme of grace that I've seen popping up in my life over the last few years is not something that God has been trying to teach and then will let me lay it aside. Rather grace and faith are what these whole 9 years and what the rest of my eternity will be about.

For 9 years I have have been trying to live in such a way that it would please God, even when I have preached on the issue of grace, I have secretly believed that that action was pleasing God. But I will never please God on my own merit. We will never please God on our own merit. No amount of degrees, mission trips, languages learned, ministries worked with, dollars given to the poor or other spiritual notches in our belts will make God happy with us for the simple reason that if we have already decided to live as a disciple HE IS ALREADY PLEASED. He adores us, he believes in us and he wants us to draw closer to him. That is what will lead us to a fuller life. Faith. Because a life of faith will be used to minister to others, will be used to change lives and ultimately history itself.