Hebrews 11: 5 It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.”For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. 6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. Who are you pleasing? Man or God? To please God will always line up with pleasing man and vice versa. God's ways are much different than man's ways and when we have a "faith" that is wrapped up in God alone our lives take on a new way of thinking. God gave us our individualism thus Psalm 139: 13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
It is so wonderful to serve a God who knows the intricate parts of my soul, will, heart, and mind! The lure of religion, or the group mentality many times lessens the true effect of God in our life and leads us down a path of compromised faith. We don't have to be a "loner' but we do need to listen to God intently for His will for "our" life and there we find ourselves in the plan. Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying, which was very unusual for anyone, but that was what God wanted to do and He did it. I am not jealous of Enoch because God did something unique in his life. I learn from it and ask God to show me His unique plan for me. The utter pride of thinking "You can't get more than me" is a sure sign of spiritual immaturity and needs to be squashed wherever it pops up. God is so awesome and He has a very unique direction for each one of us.
The group mentality drawn from religion will usually compromise the wonderful plan our God has for our life as a person of faith. Enoch was known as a person who pleased God. What better worship can we give God than to have faith that follows God on the unique path he has set for us? Enoch's faith pleased God, so Enoch didn't taste death but was taken up to heaven without dying and that was the result of pleasing God. Then the writer of Hebrews brings the whole faith thing into our reality by saying 6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
We seek to please God and that is done by having faith in God and ways and scripture says he will reward those who do that very thing. SO JUST DO IT!! Be Taken by your faith relationship with our Lord and God will be pleased.
The Pilgrimage Continues
David Warren
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