If you need wisdom,

ask our generous God,

and he will give it to you.

He will not rebuke you for asking.

But when you ask him,

be sure that your faith is in God alone.

Do not waver…

James 1:5-6

…when troubles of any kind come your way,

consider it an opportunity for great joy.

For you know that when your faith is tested,

your endurance has a chance to grow.

So let it grow…

James 1:2-4

(Hadrian’s Gate, Athens, Greece)

…let us offer through Jesus 

a continual sacrifice of praise to God,

proclaiming our allegiance to his name.

And don’t forget to do good

and to share with those in need.

These are the sacrifices that please God.

Hebrews 13:15-16

(Monemvasia, Greece)

Don’t love money;

be satisfied with what you have.

For God has said,

“I will never fail you.

I will never abandon you.”

So we can say with confidence,

“The LORD is my helper,

so I will have no fear.

What can mere people do to me?”

Hebrews 13:5-6

(Monemvasia, Greece)

Be careful that you do not refuse to listen 

to the One who is speaking.

…we will certainly not escape 

if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven!

When God spoke from Mount Sinai

his voice shook the earth,

but now he makes another promise:

“Once again I will shake not only the earth

but the heavens also.”

This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed,

so that only unshakable things will remain.

Hebrews 12:25-27

You have not come to a physical mountain,

to a place of flaming fire,

darkness, gloom, and whirlwind,

as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai.

No, you have come to Mount Zion,

to the city of the living God,

the heavenly Jerusalem,

and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering.

…You have come to God himself,

who is the judge over all things.

You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven

who have now been made perfect.

You have come to Jesus…

Hebrews 12:18, 22-24

Therefore,

since we are surrounded

by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith,

let us strip off every weight that slows us down,

especially the sin that so easily trips us up.

And let us run with endurance 

the race God has set before us.

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus,

the champion who initiates and perfects our faith…

Hebrews 12:1-2

It was by faith that Moses,

when he grew up,

refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ

than to own the treasures of Egypt,

for he was looking ahead to his great reward.

…He kept right on going because he kept his eyes

on the one who is invisible.

Hebrews 11:24,26-27

By faith…

Abel…Enoch…Noah…Abraham…Sarah…

All these people died still believing

what God had promised them.

They did not receive what was promised,

but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it.

They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads

here on earth.

Obviously people who say such things

are looking forward to a country they can call their own.

If they had longed for a country they came from,

they could have gone back.

But they were looking for a better place,

a heavenly homeland.

That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God,

for he has prepared a city for them. 

Hebrews 11:3,4,5,7,8,11, 13-16

It was by faith 

that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—

“he disappeared,

because God took him.”

For before he was taken up,

he was known as a person who pleased God.

Noah…obeyed God,

who warned him about things

that had never happened before. 

Hebrews 11:5, 7