Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.
A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.
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.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
. . .
You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out and face them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you.’”
But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to Him,
and He began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
. . .
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud, and that they all passed through the sea.
They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
They all ate the same spiritual food
and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the wilderness.
. . .
“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.”
A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
. . .
Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.
And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores
and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.
In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.
. . .
Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope.
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
. . .
“Do not judge, or you will be judged.
For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is still a beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
. . .
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
“Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden,
but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him,
We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling.
And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Once again, Jesus spoke to them in parables:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come.
Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
But they paid no attention and went away, one to his field, another to his business.
. . .
But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect,
Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame; do not be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated. For you will forget the shame of your youth and will remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.
In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any lost item that someone claims, ‘This is mine,’ both parties shall bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges find guilty must pay back double to his neighbor.
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials
so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers,
not to be easily disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming to be from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has already come.
Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.
He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
Do you not remember that I told you these things while I was still with you?
. . .
“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?
O Lord, may Your ear be attentive to my prayer and to the prayers of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” (At that time I was the cupbearer to the king.)
This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.
Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”