--LOVE, FAITH, JOY~~

-"...whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable."
---1 Peter 1:7-9
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--PETER'S encouragement to the scattered believers reminds us that in the midst of trials, we can still have love, faith, and joy, even without ever having seen Jesus. The Lord Jesus Himself declared, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." How did these persecuted Christians respond to Jesus in their trials?

--**They loved Him.= Love makes a trial bearable. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword?" He loves us too much to abandon us, and we love Him in return.

--**They believed.= "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." The prophet Jeremiah wrote, "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is." Our faith is well founded.

--**They rejoiced.= "Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." The proper response to trials brings inexpressible joy.~~
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-1 Peter 1:7-9; 4:13; John 20:29; Romans 8:35;
Isaiah 26:3; Jeremiah 17:7-8~~

--Days of Praise/ ICR =/ SHOUT TO THE LORD / Darlene Zschech
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