Friday in Christmas

1Verse 1. Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. 2Verse 2. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3Verse 3. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you. ” 4Verse 4. So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5Verse 5. And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6Verse 6. Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7Verse 7. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring. ” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

1Verse 1. Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. 2Verse 2. This is why the ancients were commended. 3Verse 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. 4Verse 4. By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. 5Verse 5. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see 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. 6Verse 6. And without faith it is impossible to please God. For anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. 7Verse 7. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 8Verse 8. By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. 9Verse 9. By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10Verse 10. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11Verse 11. By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the proper age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised. 12Verse 12. And so from 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.