Study Desk

put out fierce fires, escaped being killed by the sword. They were weak, but became strong; they were mighty in battle and defeated the armies of foreigners.

They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were killed by the sword. They went around clothed in skins of sheep or goats—poor, persecuted, and mistreated.

The world was not good enough for them! They wandered like refugees in the deserts and hills, living in caves and holes in the ground.

In the case of our human fathers, they punished us and we respected them. How much more, then, should we submit to our spiritual Father and live!

the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of a voice. When the people heard the voice, they begged not to hear another word,

Remember your former leaders, who spoke God's message to you. Think back on how they lived and died, and imitate their faith.

Obey your leaders and follow their orders. They watch over your souls without resting, since they must give to God an account of their service. If you obey them, they will do their work gladly; if not, they will do it with sadness, and that would be of no help to you.

The sun rises with its blazing heat and burns the plant; its flower falls off, and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way the rich will be destroyed while they go about their business.

If you listen to the word, but do not put it into practice you are like people who look in a mirror and see themselves as they are.

They take a good look at themselves and then go away and at once forget what they look like.

Where do all the fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your desires for pleasure, which are constantly fighting within you.

You have condemned and murdered innocent people, and they do not resist you.

Be patient, then, my friends, until the Lord comes. See how patient farmers are as they wait for their land to produce precious crops. They wait patiently for the autumn and spring rains.

We call them happy because they endured. You have heard of Job's patience, and you know how the Lord provided for him in the end. For the Lord is full of mercy and compassion.

Are any among you sick? They should send for the church elders, who will pray for them and rub olive oil on them in the name of the Lord.

This prayer made in faith will heal the sick; the Lord will restore them to health, and the sins they have committed will be forgiven.

and so we look forward to possessing the rich blessings that God keeps for his people. He keeps them for you in heaven, where they cannot decay or spoil or fade away.

It was concerning this salvation that the prophets made careful search and investigation, and they prophesied about this gift which God would give you.

They tried to find out when the time would be and how it would come. This was the time to which Christ's Spirit in them was pointing, in predicting the sufferings that Christ would have to endure and the glory that would follow.

And another scripture says, "This is the stone that will make people stumble, the rock that will make them fall." They stumbled because they did not believe in the word; such was God's will for them.