Everything Starts with Faith
Did you know that you can please God? We often talk about the various commands and regulations that God gives, and we talk a lot about the good things God gives us. But have you ever considered the ways you can please God?
The first thing Hebrews 11:6 tells us is that we need faith to please God. Those who do not believe in God cannot please Him.
There is a difference between having a true relationship with God and performing religious tasks without faith. We don’t have to earn a relationship with God because it is something He gives us freely. Those who have faith can please God, not because we have to, but because we get to. When we have faith in God, our hearts are changed, and we begin to desire to please God through our words and actions.
Hebrews 11:6 also tells us that God rewards those who seek Him. This doesn't mean God will give us whatever we want in life, but rather, it means that those who genuinely seek a relationship with God will find it.
And in this passage, God Himself is the gift we receive!
The Greatest Servant
If we’re honest, most of us would rather be served than to serve others. We’d rather feel special than ordinary. We’d rather feel important than insignificant.
And though God has made each of us special, important, and created in His image—His children cannot be above serving, because Jesus was never above serving.
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:28 NLT
If the King of kings and Lord of lords didn’t come to be served, but to sacrifice His life for the sake and salvation of others, we should pay attention.
Jesus warned against doing impressive things just to be seen, praying extravagant prayers merely to be heard, and taking the highest-ranking positions simply to be known. (See: Matthew 6 and 20.)
Instead, Jesus engaged the outcast, fed the hungry, healed the sick, helped the hurting, stopped for the broken, washed dirty feet, and laid down ...