"So then faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God."—Romans 10:17.
Lord
God, may we pray that each one of us learns and understands that faith comes from
witnessing to others; so that we may witness as to what God has done for us by
Blessing us in non-worldly ways (family love, spouses love, children’s love...).
Hebrews
11 New
International Version (NIV)
Faith in
Action
Now
faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were
commended for.
By
faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what
is seen was not made out of what was visible.
By
faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was
commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel
still speaks, even though he is dead.
By
faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”
For before he was taken, he was commended as one
who pleased God. 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.
By
faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to
save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the
righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
By
faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his
inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in
the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as
did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and builder is God. And by
faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children
because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on
the seashore.
All
these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive
the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,
admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things
show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left,
they would have had opportunity to return. Instead,
they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not
ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
By
faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had
embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to
him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so
in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
By
faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
By
faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as
he leaned on the top of his staff.
By
faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites
from Egypt
and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
By
faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they
saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
By
faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s
daughter. He
chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the
fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded
disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because
he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith
he left Egypt,
not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is
invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and
the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not
touch the firstborn of Israel.
By
faith the people passed through the Red Sea as
on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
By
faith the walls of Jericho
fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
By
faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with
those who were disobedient.
And
what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson
and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered
kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the
mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the
flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to
strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There
were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain
an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers
and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two;
they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins,
destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the
world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in
caves and in holes in the ground.
These
were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been
promised, since
God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would
they be made perfect.
Unbelievers or New Believers NIV Audio Bible, Dramatized
Psalm
33 New
International Version (NIV)
Sing
joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise
him.
Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.
Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.
For the
word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.
The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
By the
word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath
of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him.
For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him.
For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.
But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.
Blessed
is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his
inheritance.
From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth— he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.
From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth— he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.
No king
is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
We wait
in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.
In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.
Unbelievers or New Believers NIV Audio Bible, Dramatized
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
Footnotes:
- Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. Purchased Product License 01/09/2015
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