If I had ignored my sins, the Lord would not have listened to me.

"Now speak to them and tell them what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to them: Each of you Israelites who have given your heart to idols and let them lead you into sin and who then come to consult a prophet, will get an answer from me---the answer that your many idols deserve!

So if your right eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away! It is much better for you to lose a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell.

If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is much better for you to lose one of your limbs than to have your whole body go off to hell.

Have you ever seen anyone like this man Job? He never shows respect for God.

He says that it never does any good to try to follow God's will.

or to ask God, "How does my sin affect you? What have I gained by not sinning?"

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, "Your Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves.

But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up."

When Daniel learned that the order had been signed, he went home. In an upstairs room of his house there were windows that faced toward Jerusalem. There, just as he had always done, he knelt down at the open windows and prayed to God three times a day.

But it does not sink deep into them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me.

They called the apostles in, had them whipped, and ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus; and then they set them free.

As the apostles left the Council, they were happy, because God had considered them worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of Jesus.

He preferred to suffer with God's people rather than to enjoy sin for a little while.

For it is better to suffer for doing good, if this should be God's will, than for doing evil.

If you suffer, it must not be because you are a murderer or a thief or a criminal or a meddler in other people's affairs.

However, if you suffer because you are a Christian, don't be ashamed of it, but thank God that you bear Christ's name.