Religion & Spirituality
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,
Since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,
By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”
Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.
For we walk by faith, not by sight.
For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. ...
Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
But he said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
For nothing will be impossible with God.”
And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”
But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”
And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.
My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.
Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.
O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave. Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.
For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.
And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.
And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.
But you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today.
For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.”’
But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”
On the day when Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle and had anointed and consecrated it with all its furnishings and had anointed and consecrated the altar with all its utensils, the chiefs of Israel, heads of their fathers' houses, who were the chiefs of the tribes, who were over those who were listed, approached and brought their offerings before the Lord, six wagons and twelve oxen, a wagon for every two of the chiefs, and for each one an ox. They brought them before the tabernacle. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Accept these from them, that they may be used in the service of the tent of meeting, and give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.” ...
You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.
And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
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