Your
Faith Need Strengthening
Genesis 15:1-6
1 After this, the word of the LORD came to
Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very
great reward.”
2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign
LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless
and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of
Damascus?" 3 And Abram
said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be
my heir."
4 Then the word of the LORD came to
him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body
will be your heir." 5 He
took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if
indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your
offspring be."
6 Abram believed the LORD, and he
credited it to him as righteousness.
Proverbs 3:5-9
5 Trust in the LORD
with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways
acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and
shun evil.
8 This will bring health to your
body and nourishment to your bones.
9 Honor the LORD with your
wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops;
Romans 5:1-11
1Therefore, since we have been justified
through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained
access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the
hope of the glory of God. 3Not
only so, but we[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we
know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us,
because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he
has given us.
6You see, at just the right time,
when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man,
though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in
this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9Since we have now been justified
by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God's
enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more,
having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
1 Corinthians
9:24-27
24Do you not know
that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a
way as to get the prize.
25Everyone who competes in the
games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last;
but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running
aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that
after I have preached to others, I myself will not be
disqualified for the prize.
Hebrews 10:19-25
19Therefore,
brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of
Jesus, 20by a new and
living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a great
priest over the house of God, 22let
us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies
washed with pure water. 23Let
us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he
who promised is faithful. 24And
let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting
together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one
another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:35-39
35So do not throw
away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36You need to persevere so that when you have
done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For in just a very little while, "He who
is coming will come and will not delay. 38But my
righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased
with him." 39But we
are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe
and are saved.
Hebrews 11:1-12
1Now faith is being sure of what
we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.
3By 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. 4By faith Abel
offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a
righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still
speaks, even though he is dead.
5By 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. 6And
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.
7By 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 comes by
faith.
8By 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.
9By 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. 10For he
was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder
is God.
11By faith Abraham, even though
he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father
because he]considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And 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.
Hebrews 13
1 Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2Do not forget to entertain
strangers, for by so doing some people have
entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember
those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are
mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. 4Marriage should be honored by all, and the
marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually
immoral. 5Keep your lives
free from the love of money and be content with what
you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I
forsake you." 6So we say with confidence, "The
Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
7 Remember your leaders, who
spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and
imitate their faith. 8Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
9 Do not be carried away by all
kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by
grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. 10We have an altar from which
those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11 The high priest carries the
blood of animals into the
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let
us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that
confess his name. 16And do
not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is
pleased. 17Obey your
leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must
give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for
that would be of no advantage to you.
18 Pray for us. We are sure that
we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. 19I particularly urge you to pray
so that I may be restored to you soon.
20 May the God of peace, who through
the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21equip
you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is
pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory
for ever and ever. Amen.
22 Brothers, I urge you to bear
with my word of exhortation, for I have written you only a short letter.
23I want you to know that our
brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to
see you.
24 Greet all your leaders and all
God's people. Those from
25 Grace be with you all.