John 4:24
God is Spirit
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.
Matthew 16:16
God is Alive
16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Hebrews 11:1-40
Faith in Action
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.” 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 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.” 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.
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; 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.
John 1:1-18
The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life,and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
God is Spirit...He is not physical...So He is hard to see with our current eyes...But St. Peter reminds us that God is alive, and Jesus is the Messiah, sent from the Living God...We can be confident that God is alive and living, by our faith...For in Him, we have confidence in what we hope for and assurance in our faith about what we do not see...God can be found without seeing Him...He touches us through His Spirit and the Holy Spirit...We are touched by His Son...And Jesus was with the Spirit of God from the beginning...And He came to earth to teach us things about His Father, and about the world He came from -and He did it with grace and with Truth...And without God, there is no faith...
I used to think that the author of Hebrews in writing about faith was rather incomplete, for me...The author says that 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... 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...Then the author goes about giving us examples of faith...And the examples are of men and women of great faith...
What I failed to see about these men and women of faith, and were living be faith when they died are not only examples of faith, but they are evidences of faith...And they are evidences that God exists...And they were not only evidences of great faith, but they are people of great hope for a better world and place...These men and women mentioned show a deep belief in God, and continued their belief all the way up to their deaths...These people lived their lives "by faith" in God...These followers did the will of God, the best they could and never gave up on the hope of God, even in the times of His absence...These men lived by faith not only because they believed in God, but also because by living out their faith it taught others about God and others how to live...
Later (after these men and women of faith) God would send us His Son...His Son is completely full of faith...His whole life is centered around God...All He taught about was about His Father...He taught the eternities of His world...Jesus taught others about God, and through His teachings and parables He teaches us how to live an abundant life, one which is full of faith...
We need these men and women of faith as we seek God, who often seems to hide from us...And we need Jesus because He makes our faith in His Father (and in Him) seem more complete...Let us imagine that we did not have these men and women of faith in the Bible, and other people of faith were erased from our Bible, including His Son...The world would be a very sad world for me...What kind of world would it have been if all the examples of faith, and the men and women who lived by their faith were gone and never existed...It is not the kind of world I would want to live in, and I actually believe without the faith of these mentioned, as well as others, would have made the world quite worse than it is right now...It would be a world of little hope without these great men and women of faith...
So the history of the faith of our ancestors is very important...The history of Jesus and His teachings and Him being the Son of God is very important...And although it seems to many that Jesus is outdated and faith therefore is outdated, He lives...So, I must and want to seek the LORD...I want the world to be better...I want to have hope...I want there to be a Kingdom of God, where Jesus came from and teaches about...I want to please His Father...I want to have faith and believe He exists, so I can please Him...I better understand that I need faith, for 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...I want Him to call me a good and faithful servant...