Scriptures = Word of God.
(1 Thessalonians 2:13) New International Version (NIV)
[SUP]13 [/SUP]And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.
(2 Timothy 3:16) New International Version (NIV)
[SUP]16 [/SUP]All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
(2 Peter 1:20-21) New International Version (NIV)
[SUP]20 [/SUP]Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. [SUP]21 [/SUP]For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
God can not lie.
(Titus 1:2) New International Version (NIV)
[SUP]2 [/SUP]in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,
(Numbers 23:19) New International Version (NIV)
[SUP]19 [/SUP]God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
(Hebrews 6:18) New International Version (NIV)
[SUP]18 [/SUP]God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.
Who are the disciples of Jesus?
[h=1](John 8:31-32) New International Version (NIV)[/h]
[SUP]31 [/SUP]To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. [SUP]32 [/SUP]Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
When Jesus was tempted he used the Word of God or the Scriptures against Satan.
[h=1](Luke 4:1-4) New International Version (NIV)[/h]
4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, [SUP]2 [/SUP]where for forty days he was tempted[SUP][[/SUP][SUP]a[/SUP][SUP]][/SUP] by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
[SUP]3 [/SUP]The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
[SUP]4 [/SUP]Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’[SUP][[/SUP][SUP]b[/SUP][SUP]][/SUP]”
Jesus declares all food clean.
[h=1](Mark 7:14-23) New International Version (NIV)[/h]
[SUP]14 [/SUP]Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. [SUP]15 [/SUP]Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” [SUP][16] [[/SUP][SUP]a[/SUP][SUP]][/SUP]
[SUP]17 [/SUP]After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. [SUP]18 [/SUP]“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them?[SUP]19 [/SUP]For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
[SUP]20 [/SUP]He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. [SUP]21 [/SUP]For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, [SUP]22 [/SUP]adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. [SUP]23 [/SUP]All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
Faith in Action
(Hebrews 4:12)
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
(John 1:12)
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
(John 15:7)
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
(John 14:11-14)
11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.
12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
(John 16:23,24)
23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
(Matthew 7:7, 8)
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
(Matthew 17:20)
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.[SUP]a[/SUP]”
(Matthew 18:19)
“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
(Matthew 19:26)
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
(Matthew 21:22)
21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.
22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
(Mark 9:23)
“ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
(Mark 10:27)
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
(Mark 11:22-24)
22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.
23 “Truly, [SUP]f[/SUP]I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.
24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
(Mark 16:17, 18)
17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
(Luke 1:37)
37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
(Luke 11:9, 10)
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
(Luke 18:27)
Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
(Acts 3:1-16)
1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon.
2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.
3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.
4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!”
5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.
8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God,
10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
11 While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade.
12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.
14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.
15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.
16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.
(Acts 4:7-12)
7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!
9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed,
10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
11 Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’[SUP]a[/SUP]
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
(1 John 3:21, 22)
21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God
22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.
(1 John 5:14, 15)
14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
(Acts 4:29-30)
29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
(Acts 5:40)
His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
(Acts 16:16-18)
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”
18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
[h=1](2 Corinthians 4:13)[/h]
[SUP]13 [/SUP]It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[SUP][[/SUP][SUP]a[/SUP][SUP]][/SUP] Since we have that same spirit of[SUP][[/SUP][SUP]b[/SUP][SUP]][/SUP] faith, we also believe and therefore speak,
(James 5:16-18)
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops
.
Faith in Action
(Hebrews 11:1-40)
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.”[SUP]a[/SUP] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.
10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[SUP]b[/SUP] considered him faithful who had made the promise.
12 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.
13 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.
14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.
15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.
16 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.
17 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,
18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”[SUP]c[/SUP]
19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 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.
23 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.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
26 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.
27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.
28 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.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.[SUP]d[/SUP]
32 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,
33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,
34 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.
35 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.
36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
37 They were put to death by stoning;[SUP]e[/SUP] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—
38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised,
40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
[h=1](Job 22:25-30)[/h]
[SUP]25 [/SUP]then the Almighty will be your gold,
the choicest silver for you.
[SUP]26 [/SUP]Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
and will lift up your face to God.
[SUP]27 [/SUP]You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
[SUP]28 [/SUP]What you decide on will be done,
and light will shine on your ways.
[SUP]29 [/SUP]When people are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
then he will save the downcast.
[SUP]30 [/SUP]He will deliver even one who is not innocent,
who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”
(1 Thessalonians 2:13) New International Version (NIV)
[SUP]13 [/SUP]And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.
(2 Timothy 3:16) New International Version (NIV)
[SUP]16 [/SUP]All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
(2 Peter 1:20-21) New International Version (NIV)
[SUP]20 [/SUP]Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. [SUP]21 [/SUP]For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
God can not lie.
(Titus 1:2) New International Version (NIV)
[SUP]2 [/SUP]in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,
(Numbers 23:19) New International Version (NIV)
[SUP]19 [/SUP]God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
(Hebrews 6:18) New International Version (NIV)
[SUP]18 [/SUP]God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.
Who are the disciples of Jesus?
[h=1](John 8:31-32) New International Version (NIV)[/h]
[SUP]31 [/SUP]To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. [SUP]32 [/SUP]Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
When Jesus was tempted he used the Word of God or the Scriptures against Satan.
[h=1](Luke 4:1-4) New International Version (NIV)[/h]
4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, [SUP]2 [/SUP]where for forty days he was tempted[SUP][[/SUP][SUP]a[/SUP][SUP]][/SUP] by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
[SUP]3 [/SUP]The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
[SUP]4 [/SUP]Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’[SUP][[/SUP][SUP]b[/SUP][SUP]][/SUP]”
Jesus declares all food clean.
[h=1](Mark 7:14-23) New International Version (NIV)[/h]
[SUP]14 [/SUP]Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. [SUP]15 [/SUP]Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” [SUP][16] [[/SUP][SUP]a[/SUP][SUP]][/SUP]
[SUP]17 [/SUP]After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. [SUP]18 [/SUP]“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them?[SUP]19 [/SUP]For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
[SUP]20 [/SUP]He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. [SUP]21 [/SUP]For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, [SUP]22 [/SUP]adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. [SUP]23 [/SUP]All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
Faith in Action
(Hebrews 4:12)
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
(John 1:12)
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
(John 15:7)
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
(John 14:11-14)
11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.
12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
(John 16:23,24)
23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
(Matthew 7:7, 8)
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
(Matthew 17:20)
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.[SUP]a[/SUP]”
(Matthew 18:19)
“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
(Matthew 19:26)
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
(Matthew 21:22)
21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.
22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
(Mark 9:23)
“ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
(Mark 10:27)
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
(Mark 11:22-24)
22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.
23 “Truly, [SUP]f[/SUP]I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.
24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
(Mark 16:17, 18)
17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
(Luke 1:37)
37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
(Luke 11:9, 10)
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
(Luke 18:27)
Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
(Acts 3:1-16)
1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon.
2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.
3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.
4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!”
5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.
8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God,
10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
11 While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade.
12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.
14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.
15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.
16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.
(Acts 4:7-12)
7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!
9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed,
10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
11 Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’[SUP]a[/SUP]
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
(1 John 3:21, 22)
21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God
22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.
(1 John 5:14, 15)
14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
(Acts 4:29-30)
29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
(Acts 5:40)
His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
(Acts 16:16-18)
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”
18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
[h=1](2 Corinthians 4:13)[/h]
[SUP]13 [/SUP]It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[SUP][[/SUP][SUP]a[/SUP][SUP]][/SUP] Since we have that same spirit of[SUP][[/SUP][SUP]b[/SUP][SUP]][/SUP] faith, we also believe and therefore speak,
(James 5:16-18)
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops
.
Faith in Action
(Hebrews 11:1-40)
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.”[SUP]a[/SUP] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.
10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[SUP]b[/SUP] considered him faithful who had made the promise.
12 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.
13 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.
14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.
15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.
16 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.
17 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,
18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”[SUP]c[/SUP]
19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 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.
23 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.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
26 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.
27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.
28 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.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.[SUP]d[/SUP]
32 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,
33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,
34 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.
35 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.
36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
37 They were put to death by stoning;[SUP]e[/SUP] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—
38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised,
40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
[h=1](Job 22:25-30)[/h]
[SUP]25 [/SUP]then the Almighty will be your gold,
the choicest silver for you.
[SUP]26 [/SUP]Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
and will lift up your face to God.
[SUP]27 [/SUP]You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
[SUP]28 [/SUP]What you decide on will be done,
and light will shine on your ways.
[SUP]29 [/SUP]When people are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
then he will save the downcast.
[SUP]30 [/SUP]He will deliver even one who is not innocent,
who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”
