Because the early Christians were accused falsely of all sorts of outrageous behavior, Peter urged his readers in I Peter 2:11-25 to be especially careful to live such honorable lives that even their enemies would end up glorifying God. This calling was especially difficult, because they often found themselves in unfair situations that they were powerless to change, in which they suffered unjustly. Amazingly, God called them and calls us to endure unjust suffering and gave us the highest motivation for doing so: Christ already endured unjust suffering for us.
As God continued talking to the priests in Malachi 2:1-9, he rebuked them for failing in their two duties: offering sacrifices and teaching. If...
Jesus told his disciples how to handle not only adversity, but also prosperity, both of which require faith in God.
Ever since there began to be two groups preaching and baptizing, there were those who wanted to set up a competition between them. In...