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
Rm14:17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of
eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit, 18because
anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. 19Let
us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual
edification. - NIV
Rm12:9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be
lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share
with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14Bless
those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with
those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one
another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low
position. Do not be conceited. 17Do not repay
anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If
it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. - NIV
Rm15:8For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised
[Jews] to
show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the
patriarchs, 9and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his
mercy. As it is written,
"Therefore I will praise you
among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name." (2Sam22:50;
Psa18:49)
10And again it is said,
"Rejoice, O Gentiles,
with his people." (Deu32:43)
11And again,
"Praise the Lord, all you
Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him." (Psa117:1)
12And again Isaiah says,
"The root of Jesse
will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles [nations];
in him will the Gentiles hope." (Isa11:10)
13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing [as you trust in him],
so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. - ESV
1Jhn1:1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we
have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have
touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2The life
appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal
life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3We proclaim
to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with
us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4We
write this to make our joy
complete. - NIV
Rm15:30I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love
of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers [by praying] to God on my behalf,
31that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my
service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32so that by
God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33May
the God of peace be with you all. Amen. - ESV
2Jhn1:12Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper
and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy
may be complete. - ESV
Jud1:20But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.
21Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear�hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
24To him who is able to keep you from falling and to
present you before his glorious presence without fault and
with great joy�
25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. - NIV
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
Challenge: True Life