FAITH IS A KEY ELEMENT FOR LIFE

“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
 
faith is a must.  faith is the entrance point to a relationship with God. he interacts with us based on His grace, we respond in faith.  given the basis of this type of relationship we understand how important faith is to the believer.  In fact, our scripture passage boldly declares that without it, it is impossible to please God because the simple truth remains that we must believe that He is before we can come to Him.
 
If faith is the starting point, then it makes sense that faith is a key element for life. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus commented on people’s faith.  In most cases He asked and wondered where it was, saying ‘you of little faith’ or ‘where is your faith?’  On other occasions He marveled, as in the example of the centurion solider (MATTHEW 8:5-13). When the centurion came to Jesus asking for help for his servant Jesus agreed to come with him. But in a marvelous display of faith, he told Jesus to just say the word and it would be done; citing his understanding of authority and appropriating it. “When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. The centurion’s faith made Jesus stop and marvel which is noteworthy. “Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour”.  The healing took place according to the faith of the solider and in the manner he asked for, Jesus just came into agreement with the faith that had been displayed.
 
If it is impossible to please God without faith, Then the opposite is also true; faith is what pleases God. As in our examples from the gospels, faith was important to Jesus, He looked for it and responded to it everywhere He went.
 
So the underlying truth to draw from is that God responds to faith.  just as parents and caretakers respond to babies smiling, god responds to our faith.  It pleases Him, it moves Him to act and it is essential in the life of the believer.
 
prayer—father i thank you that you have given to me the measure of faith.  i purpose in my heart to live by faith and to please you, in jesus name.  amen.