Just
read this.
There's
too much here to attempt with my finite mind to adequately comment
on...
1 Peter 4
1 So then,
since Christ suffered physical pain,
you must arm yourselves with the
same attitude he had,
and be ready to suffer, too.
For if you have suffered physically
for Christ, you have finished with sin.
2 You won't
spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires,
but you will be anxious to do the
will of God.
3 You have
had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy;
their immorality and lust,
their feasting and drunkenness and
wild parties,
and their terrible worship of
idols.
4 Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do.
So they slander you.
5 But
remember that they will have to face God,
who will judge everyone,
both the living and the dead.
6 That is why
the Good News was preached to those who are now dead;
so although they were destined to
die like all people,
they now live forever with God in
the Spirit.
7 The end of the world is coming soon.
Therefore, be earnest and
disciplined in your prayers.
8 Most
important of all, continue to show deep love for each other,
for love covers a multitude of
sins.
9 Cheerfully
share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.
10 God
has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual
gifts.
Use them well to serve one another.
11 Do you
have the gift of speaking?
Then speak as though God himself
were speaking through you.
Do you have the gift of helping
others?
Do it with all the strength and
energy that God supplies.
Then everything you do will bring
glory to God through Jesus Christ.
All glory and power to him forever
and ever! Amen.
12 Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through,
as if something strange were
happening to you.
13 Instead,
be very glad;
for these trials make you partners
with Christ in his suffering,
so that you will have the wonderful
joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
14 So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian,
for then the glorious Spirit of God
rests upon you.
15 If you
suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble,
or prying into other people's affairs.
16 But it is
no shame to suffer for being a Christian.
Praise God for the privilege of
being called by his name!
17 For the
time has come for judgment,
and it must begin with God's
household.
And if judgment begins with us,
what terrible fate awaits those who
have never obeyed God's Good News?
18 And
also,
"If the righteous are barely saved,
what will happen to godless sinners?"
"If the righteous are barely saved,
what will happen to godless sinners?"
19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God,
keep on doing what is right,
and trust your lives to the God who
created you,
for he will never fail you.
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