Encouragement

I just wanted to share some verses that have encouraged me lately.(All verses are from the NCV-New Century Version)

So my dear brothers and sisters, stand strong. Do not let anything move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your work in the Lord is never wasted. 1 Corithians 15:58

Be alert. Continue strong in the faith. Have courage, and be strong. Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's victory parade. God uses us to spread His knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume. Our offering to God is this: We are the sweet smell of Christ among those who are being saved and who are being lost. 2 Corinthians 2:14-15

So we do not give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. We have small troubles for a while now, but they are helping us to gain an eternal glory that is much greater than our troubles. We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18

We have this treasure from God, but we are like clay jars that hold the treasure. This shows that the great power is from God, not from us. We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed. We carry the death of Jesus in our own bodies so that the life of Jesus can also be seen in our bodies. 2 Corinthians 4: 7-10