Are they Christ's servants? I sound like a madman---but I am a better servant than they are! I have worked much harder, I have been in prison more times, I have been whipped much more, and I have been near death more often.

three times I was whipped by the Romans; and once I was stoned. I have been in three shipwrecks, and once I spent twenty-four hours in the water.

There has been work and toil; often I have gone without sleep; I have been hungry and thirsty; I have often been without enough food, shelter, or clothing.

His anger lasts only a moment, his goodness for a lifetime. Tears may flow in the night, but joy comes in the morning.

I turned away angry for only a moment, but I will show you my love forever." So says the LORD who saves you.

I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit has warned me that prison and troubles wait for me.

I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.

Who, then, will condemn them? Not Christ Jesus, who died, or rather, who was raised to life and is at the right side of God, pleading with him for us!

No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us!

Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer.

The end of all things is near. You must be self-controlled and alert, to be able to pray.

But after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who calls you to share his eternal glory in union with Christ, will himself perfect you and give you firmness, strength, and a sure foundation.

Before you punished me, I used to go wrong, but now I obey your word.

My punishment was good for me, because it made me learn your commands.

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.

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

This hope does not disappoint us, for God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us.

because I know that by means of your prayers and the help which comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ I shall be set free.

That is why we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God. We boast about the way you continue to endure and believe through all the persecutions and sufferings you are experiencing.

God will do what is right: he will bring suffering on those who make you suffer,

Our human fathers punished us for a short time, as it seemed right to them; but God does it for our own good, so that we may share his holiness.

When we are punished, it seems to us at the time something to make us sad, not glad. Later, however, those who have been disciplined by such punishment reap the peaceful reward of a righteous life.

for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure.

Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Happy are those who remain faithful under trials, because when they succeed in passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those who love him.

All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory.

After this, Abram had a vision and heard the LORD say to him, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I will shield you from danger and give you a great reward."

How wonderful are the good things you keep for those who honor you! Everyone knows how good you are, how securely you protect those who trust you.

You guide me with your instruction and at the end you will receive me with honor.

No one has ever seen or heard of a God like you, who does such deeds for those who put their hope in him.

Be glad when that happens and dance for joy, because a great reward is kept for you in heaven. For their ancestors did the very same things to the prophets.

Some people keep on doing good, and seek glory, honor, and immortal life; to them God will give eternal life.

However, as the scripture says, "What no one ever saw or heard, what no one ever thought could happen, is the very thing God prepared for those who love him."

Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honor on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed.

You love him, although you have not seen him, and you believe in him, although you do not now see him. So you rejoice with a great and glorious joy which words cannot express,

But after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who calls you to share his eternal glory in union with Christ, will himself perfect you and give you firmness, strength, and a sure foundation.

My dear friends, we are now God's children, but it is not yet clear what we shall become. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is.

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to bring you faultless and joyful before his glorious presence---