By Faith We Please God

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Glory To God in the Highest

Hebrews 11:1-6  The Message

Faith in What We Don’t See

11 ^1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

³ By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.
⁴ By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That’s what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice.
^5-6 By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.” It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

 
For Reflection
Fundamental, that which is so central that all other elements depend upon it; that is what belief in God is; A fundamental reality in which one must believe in order to accept the mystery that is our existence.  An act of faith requires a trust that is beyond empirical evidence.  An act of faith requires confidence in an anticipated outcome.  An act of faith requires courage to go forward into a tunnel of  darkness, knowing that one will emerge, unscathed, into light.

Pray

for the courage your belief in God requires.  Pray for the confidence in God that will propel you into tomorrow with anticipated joy.