Carla H

Romans 5:3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 

When I have no words in times such as these You speak for me. In my weakness You are my strength and my only hope. Thank You God for loving us enough to allow Jesus in His death to redeem us. In being  humble, knowing that we only see in part that which You see in its entirety, we allow the power of Holy Spirit to show us how to walk in You! Carla

2 Corinthians 12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul restates the paradoxical nature of his life and ministry. When he is helpless and vulnerable, Christ empowers him to endure and fulfill his vocation. Faithlife Study Bible

Paul not only boasted about his weaknesses (verse 9), he said I take pleasure, a word meaning “to think good,” “to be well-pleased” in them. The NKJV Study Bible

2 Corinthians 13:4 For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.

2 Corinthians 6:4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, 

Matthew 5:11–12 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

In Mark 1:15, Jesus spoke two important phrases that concluded a season of what seemed like endless waiting for the people of God: He said "the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand."

But Jesus in His incarnation established God's reign and rule in a new way. The fact that He has come, fulfilling ancient prophecies like Isaiah 9:1-7 and Zechariah 9:9-10, is what makes "the time ... fulfilled" (Mark 1:15). We could say the time of promise gives way to the time of fulfillment.

Jesus is already King. And because the King is present, the Kingdom has arrived and is breaking into earth in a powerful way. But at the same time, we still face the reality of sin and death in our world, and that will only cease when Christ returns again as conquering King.

What incredibly good news this is for you and me as those who follow Jesus, the resurrected King of heaven and earth. Today we live in the age of fulfillment. And our proof that "the time is fulfilled" (Mark 1:15) is the victory of Christ displayed through the cross and the empty tomb.

We are witnesses of the goodness of God's Kingdom that is breaking into our lives. And when people see how Christ has changed us, they are seeing the fruit of the Kingdom of God. First5