Day 350, or December 16th. Just keep looking
to Him. Our thoughts today come from Hebrews
11, verse 6. And without faith it is impossible
to please God, because anyone who comes to Him
must believe that He exists, and that He rewards
those who earnestly seek Him. And now the big picture
surrounding this verse. Finally, Hebrews recalls
some of the great men and women from Jewish history
who lived by faith and pleased God. The list
begins in Genesis and runs all the way through
to the prophets at the end of our Old Testament.
We are challenged to endure to the end as Christ
endured to the end. Keep loving each other is
a great ending to this challenging letter, written
to Jews, but a blessing to Gentiles too. And
now today's action step. We can see from today's
verse that God doesn't demand results, but insists
that we have the right intent. Now that doesn't
mean we should shy away from success, in spiritual
terms, but we are assured that as long as we
remain faithful and constantly seek God and His
will for our lives, we will please God. During
all our years heading up walk through the Bible
in the UK, my wife and I wanted to succeed for
God. Not because our salvation depended on it,
because it didn't, but we kept going as though
it did. Always seeking God's best and then working
hard to try to help achieve it with the help
of his spirit. As an avid football fan, I remember
certain players who you would forgive anything
because they always tried. I recall Brian Clough,
who was very successful as a manager, always
took certain players with him whenever he moved
to another club. They weren't necessarily the
best footballers, but they were always the hardest
workers, who always gave of their best. Does
God deserve our best? Then why not give it to
him? Whether it's in your home, your office,
your school, or your church, let's give God our
best shot as a sign of our gratitude for all
he has done for us. That way, we will please
God. Wow!