Key Thought

Today's Prayer

Give me strength, O LORD God Almighty, to endure to the end and find your glorious welcome into your eternal Kingdom of mercy, grace, and joy. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

Jesus was leaving the temple area. One of his followers said to him, "Look, Teacher! This temple has very beautiful buildings with very big stones." Jesus said, "Are you looking at these great buildings? They will all be destroyed. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another." Later, Jesus was sitting at a place on the Mount of Olives. He was alone with Peter, James, John, and Andrew. They could all see the temple. Those followers asked Jesus, "Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will show us it is time for these things to happen?" Jesus said to the followers: "Be careful! Don't let any person fool you. Many people will come and use my name. They will say, 'I am the One.' And they will fool many people. You will hear about wars that are being fought. And you will hear stories about other wars beginning. But don't be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times when there is no food for people to eat. And there will be earthquakes in different places. These things are like the first pains when something new is born. "You must be careful. People will arrest you and take you to be judged. They will beat you in their synagogues. You will be forced to stand before kings and governors. You will tell them about me. This will happen to you because you follow me. Before these things happen, the Good News must be told to all people. You will be arrested and judged. But don't worry about what you should say. Say the things God gives you to say at that time. It will not really be you speaking. It will be the Holy Spirit speaking. "Brothers will turn against their own brothers and give them to be killed. Fathers will turn against their own children and give them to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and find ways for their parents to be killed. All people will hate you because you follow me.But the person that continues strong until the end will be saved.

Related Scripture Readings

Don't be afraid of the things that will happen to you. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison. He will do this to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But be faithful, even if you have to die. If you continue faithful, then I will give you the crown of life.

Can anything separate us from Christ's love? No! Can trouble separate us from Christ's love? No! Can problems or persecution separate us from Christ's love? No! If we have no food or clothes, will that separate us from Christ's love? No! Will danger or even death separate us from Christ's love? No! Like it is written in the Scriptures : "For you (Christ) we are in danger of death all the time. People think we are worth no more than sheep to be killed." But in all these things we have full victory through God who showed his love for us. Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God's love—not death, not life, not angels or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us—nothing in the whole created world—will ever be able to separate us from God's love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Christ suffered while he was in his body. So you should strengthen yourselves with the same kind of thinking Christ had. The person who has suffered in his body is finished with sin. {Strengthen yourselves} so that you will live your lives here on earth doing what God wants, not doing the evil things that people want. In the past you wasted too much time doing the things that the non-believers like to do. You were doing sexual sins. You were doing the evil things you wanted. You were becoming drunk, having wild and wasteful parties, having drunken parties, and doing wrong by worshiping idols (false gods). Those non-believers think that it is strange that you don't do the many wild and wasteful things that they do. And so they say bad things about you.

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