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Faith That Pleases God

~WORDS OF FAITH


 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6, NKJV)

  Hebrews 11 is called by many the “Faith” chapter.  It begins, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1, NLT).  In other words, faith isn’t merely an ideology.  One might even say, faith isn’t so much a noun, as it is a verb; or,  faith is certainly a subject of the Bible, but it requires action to bring about what is hoped for in your daily life.  

  “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?… Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.” (James 2:14&26, NLT).  

  For the atheist who says, “Seeing is believing,” it is certain that one day you will see and believe, but by that time it will be too late.  Jesus told the story of a rich man and a beggar lying outside his door.  Eventually both the poor man and the rich man died, but because the rich man wasn’t a believer, he found himself in the place of torment.  “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ ” (Luke 16:24, NKJV).

  For the rich man, it was too late.  He had the wealth of the world, but in God’s mind he was a pauper.  A follower of God has a heart for God first and His people second, regardless of their earthly possessions, great or small.  No matter your stage in life, it will greatly benefit you to believe and receive Jesus this side of death.

  Are you a person who feels the need to please people in order to find your sense of identity?  In the digital age when social media drives so much of the culture, it is more necessary to set our affections on pleasing God rather than man.  In order to walk in faith that pleases God sometimes means doing what God tells you to do even when it makes absolutely no sense to your family members, friends or colleagues.

  There is a certainty regarding faith that applies to each of us: “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”  There is only one place a person feeds their faith.  Inspiring quotes, while good, may increase one’s linguistic arsenal, but they do nothing to increase faith.  A great song, while entertaining, doesn’t increase faith.  Only regular times feeding on the Word of God will do this.  

  “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1 John 5:4, NKJV).  To overcome the world means to overcome in every day life.  More next week…

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Rob Granger and his wife, Becky, serve as Executive Pastors of Grace Church San Marcos under Senior Pastors Brian and Melissa Bauer. Located at 855 E. Barham Drive, San Marcos, Grace San Marcos meets at 10 a.m. Sundays and 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays with meetings for youth, children and other groups scheduled throughout the week. Visit www.gracesanmarcos.net for further information.

  The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Times-Advocate.

One response to “Faith That Pleases God”

  1. Brian Westley says:

    ” For the atheist who says, “Seeing is believing,” it is certain that one day you will see and believe, but by that time it will be too late.”

    Because you worship a god who inflicts eternal torment for a mistaken opinion. How immoral.

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