Text: Hebrews 11:5

Key verse: \”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\”

In an age where values and choices are based on how people feel, it has become difficult to find people who make it their goal to please God.

A famous quote by Steve Jobs says \”Follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”  When people follow their hearts without recourse to what God wants they are led into error.

Our worthy Ambassador for today is Enoch, he lived in an era when people did what they wanted, but he had a reputation of  Pleasing God and it stood him out.

 \”For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God\”.

In our daily lives, we are known for many things by the people around us. Our children know what we as parents will not allow at home, our colleagues know what turns us off at work and how we respond to correction; still, those of us who are married know what drives our spouses.  Can we live with a desire to pursue a reputation of being a God pleaser among all who know us and relate with us?

Pleasing God set Enoch apart, it distinguished him. God so enjoyed the relationship with him that he had to take him to heaven without his passing through death.

Living in a survival mode makes people live only for themselves, making decisions based on selfishness and self-preservation,  but when we chose to live to please God our lives serve a greater good both to man, God, and his kingdom.

Living to please God is doing the things that have been revealed in the scriptures as his commandments. It is choosing to do what he wants even when it hurts.  When God demands that we forgive those who have caused us pain, it is usually not easy, your heart wants them to experience pain too before you release them. But God says forgive because l also forgave you. If you choose to live a life of always forgiving people then your reputation will be pleasing to God.

It takes faith to please someone you cannot see, but it is a choice that never goes unrewarded. All those we will follow in this series are men and women of faith because faith truly pleases God.

Pleasing God cannot happen until you start to have a close relationship with him and know the things he wants and loves. Intimacy with God starts with spending time with God in prayer, meditation, and the Word. Then you will be able to know what truly pleases him.

Don’t become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God wants—what is good, pleasing, and perfect. Romans 12:2

Pleasing God requires a change of mindset, a willingness to always test your decisions by his word and his will. It is not what works or how we feel that matters, it is what God wants that we do.

Be a God pleaser!

Roses & Thorns