Jam1:2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. - NIV


1Pet1:3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. - NIV


1Pet5:5 ..... you who are younger, be subject [submissive] to the elders [those who are older]. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for

   "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (Pro3:34)

6
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you [lift you up], 7casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8Be sober-minded [self-controlled]; be watchful [alert]. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9Resist him, [standing] firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10And 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 [make you firm], strengthen, and establish you [make you steadfast]. 11To him be the dominion [power] forever and ever. Amen. - ESV


Rm5:1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. - NIV


Rm8:12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. - NIV


Rm8:18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. - NIV


Rm8:22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. - NIV


Rm8:26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. - NIV


1Pet3:13Now who is there [going] to harm you if you are zealous for [to do] what is good? 14But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense [give an answer] to anyone who asks you for a [to give the] reason for the hope that is in you; 16yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good [keeping a clear] conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile3 your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. 18For 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 [by the Spirit], - ESV


1Pet4:1Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh [his body], arm yourselves with the same way of thinking [attitude], for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin [is done with sin], 2so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh [his earthly life] no longer for human passions [evil desires] but for the will of God. 3The time that is past suffices for [you have spent enough time in the past] doing what the Gentiles [pagans] want [choose] to do, living in sensuality [debauchery1], passions [lust], drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties [carousing6], and lawless idolatry. 4With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join [plunge with] them in the same flood of debauchery [dissipation4], and they malign5 [heap abuse on] you; 5but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are [now] dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are [according to men in regard to the body], they might live in the spirit the way God does [according to God in the regard to the spirit]. - ESV


1Pet4:12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery [painful] trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice insofar as [that] you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that [he bears that] name. 17For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18And

    "If the righteous is scarcely saved,
        what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" (Pro11:31)

19
Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a [their] faithful Creator while doing [continuing to do] good. - ESV


1 - debauchery: indulgence in pleasure that lacks moral restraint, extreme indulgence in sensual pleasure. ^

3 - revile: to denounce with abusive language. ^

4 - dissipation: spending or using up wastefully or foolishly, causing to spread thin or scatter and gradually vanish. ^

5 - malign: have or show intense or vicious ill will. ^


6 - carouse: a drunken revel, intense pleasure or satisfaction taken while drunk. ^


Also see: Facing Trouble - Hardship and God Tests Us and Facing Persecution


Faith   and   Love

Challenge:  True Life

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