As the apostles left the Council, they were happy, because God had considered them worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of Jesus.

We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance,

I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

And now I am happy about my sufferings for you, for by means of my physical sufferings I am helping to complete what still remains of Christ's sufferings on behalf of his body, the church.

My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way,

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby moved within her. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit

For as soon as I heard your greeting, the baby within me jumped with gladness.

As the Box was being brought into the city, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and jumping around in the sacred dance, and she was disgusted with him.

As the Box was being brought into the city, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and jumping around in the sacred dance, and she was disgusted with him.

The lame will leap and dance, and those who cannot speak will shout for joy. Streams of water will flow through the desert;

he jumped up, stood on his feet, and started walking around. Then he went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God.

and said in a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet!" The man jumped up and started walking around.

No! Love your enemies and do good to them; lend and expect nothing back. You will then have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God. For he is good to the ungrateful and the wicked.

Be happy and glad, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. This is how the prophets who lived before you were persecuted.

"Make certain you do not perform your religious duties in public so that people will see what you do. If you do these things publicly, you will not have any reward from your Father in heaven.

"So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it, as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do it so that people will praise them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.

All of this proves that God's judgment is just and as a result you will become worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering.

and he will give relief to you who suffer and to us as well. He will do this when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven with his mighty angels,

If we continue to endure, we shall also rule with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us.

I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, and I have kept the faith.

And now there is waiting for me the victory prize of being put right with God, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that Day---and not only to me, but to all those who wait with love for him to appear.

No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek him.

He reckoned that to suffer scorn for the Messiah was worth far more than all the treasures of Egypt, for he kept his eyes on the future reward.

Rather be glad that you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may be full of joy when his glory is revealed.

"If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches! "To those who win the victory I will give the right to eat the fruit of the tree of life that grows in the Garden of God.

Don't be afraid of anything you are about to suffer. Listen! The Devil will put you to the test by having some of you thrown into prison, and your troubles will last ten days. Be faithful to me, even if it means death, and I will give you life as your prize of victory.

"If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches! "Those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death.

"If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches! "To those who win the victory I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give each of them a white stone on which is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.

To those who win the victory, who continue to the end to do what I want, I will give the same authority that I received from my Father: I will give them authority over the nations, to rule them with an iron rod and to break them to pieces like clay pots. I will also give them the morning star.

Those who win the victory will be clothed like this in white, and I will not remove their names from the book of the living. In the presence of my Father and of his angels I will declare openly that they belong to me.

I will make those who are victorious pillars in the temple of my God, and they will never leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which will come down out of heaven from my God. I will also write on them my new name.

Those who win the victory will receive this from me: I will be their God, and they will be my children.

and when Jezebel was killing the LORD's prophets, Obadiah took a hundred of them, hid them in caves in two groups of fifty, and provided them with food and water.)

She sent a message to Elijah: "May the gods strike me dead if by this time tomorrow I don't do the same thing to you that you did to the prophets."

He answered, " LORD God Almighty, I have always served you---you alone. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed all your prophets. I am the only one left---and they are trying to kill me!"

He answered, " LORD God Almighty, I have always served you---you alone. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed all your prophets. I am the only one left---and they are trying to kill me."

When Ahab saw Elijah, he said, "Have you caught up with me, my enemy?" "Yes, I have," Elijah answered. "You have devoted yourself completely to doing what is wrong in the LORD's sight.

Ahab answered, "There is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me; it's always something bad." "You shouldn't say that!" Jehoshaphat replied.

Tell them to throw him in prison and to put him on bread and water until I return safely."

He exclaimed, "May God strike me dead if Elisha is not beheaded before the day is over!"

But they made fun of God's messengers, ignoring his words and laughing at his prophets, until at last the LORD's anger against his people was so great that there was no escape.

"But your people rebelled and disobeyed you; they turned their backs on your Law. They killed the prophets who warned them, who told them to turn back to you. They insulted you time after time,

I punished you, but it did no good; you would not let me correct you. Like a raging lion, you have murdered your prophets.

The tenants grabbed his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another.

Again the man sent other slaves, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.

So you actually admit that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets!

You snakes and children of snakes! How do you expect to escape from being condemned to hell?

As a result, the punishment for the murder of all innocent people will fall on you, from the murder of innocent Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar.

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone the messengers God has sent you! How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me!

"How stubborn you are!" Stephen went on to say. "How heathen your hearts, how deaf you are to God's message! You are just like your ancestors: you too have always resisted the Holy Spirit!

Was there any prophet that your ancestors did not persecute? They killed God's messengers, who long ago announced the coming of his righteous Servant. And now you have betrayed and murdered him.

Our friends, the same things happened to you that happened to the churches of God in Judea, to the people there who belong to Christ Jesus. You suffered the same persecutions from your own people that they suffered from the Jews,

who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and persecuted us. How displeasing they are to God! How hostile they are to everyone!

Should I go on? There isn't enough time for me to speak of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.

put out fierce fires, escaped being killed by the sword. They were weak, but became strong; they were mighty in battle and defeated the armies of foreigners.

Some were mocked and whipped, and others were put in chains and taken off to prison.

The world was not good enough for them! They wandered like refugees in the deserts and hills, living in caves and holes in the ground.