Creation in Genesis (2/4) Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord , make me dwell in safety. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him. Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.