“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

 Who do you trust? The motto of the United States of America (USA) is ‘in God we trust.’ Indeed it has appeared on the $2 dollar paper bill since 1957, more for political reasons than religious ones. The Dutch also have a similar inscription on their coins, which dates back to the 18^th century ‘God zij met ons’ which translated means ‘God be with us’. Although not a motto, many British coins contain a drawing of the queen identified as "Elizabeth II D.G. REG. F.D." This is an abbreviation of a Latin phrase, which means "Elizabeth II by the Grace of God Queen, Defender of the Faith." In Britain, the monarch is the head of the Church of England. Canadian coins carry the phrase "Elizabeth II D.G. Regina." She is the queen of Canada but is not the "Defender of the Faith," because Canada does not have a state religion for her to defend.

Have you considered that people put more trust in money than they do in God? I overheard two boys arguing,

“Well God doesn’t exist because I can’t see him. I can see my PlayStation so I know that exists. How can you trust in something that you can’t see?”

The more his Christian friend tried to convince him, the harder the conversation became as other boys joined in and started to mock him. I intervened at this point and had a conversation with them about mutual respect of ones culture, religion and race. The world culture of consumerism doesn’t lend itself kindly to Christianity, as it doesn’t provide instant gratification as a computer game does. We need to remind ourselves of the key text

“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.”

Faith is an integral part of the Christianity; indeed it has to be at the apex. We must first believe that God is and then diligently seek Him. So do we then leave the unbeliever if they do not believe? No, Deuteronomy 4:27-29 reads,

“And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. ²⁸ And there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. ²⁹ But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

We are called to serve; it is God who does the saving. Today serve Him with gladness and claim the promise of His reward.

The song today is an affirmation of our faith 'You are God alone' by Philips, Craig and Dean.