empowerment

⁹And he said to me: “My grace is sufficient for you. For virtue is perfected in weakness.” And so, willingly shall I glory in my weaknesses, so that the virtue of Christ may live within me.

⁶Act manfully and be strengthened. Do not be afraid, and do not dread at the sight of them. For the Lord your God himself is your commander, and he will neither dismiss nor abandon you.”

⁸But you shall receive the power of the Holy Spirit, passing over you, and you shall be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.”

⁴Little sons, you are of God, and so you have overcome him. For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

¹⁹Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the powers of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. ²⁰Yet truly, do not choose to rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

¹³Everything is possible in him who has strengthened me.

¹²instructing us to reject impiety and worldly desires, so that we may live soberly and justly and piously in this age,

⁹Behold, I am instructing you. Be strengthened, and be steadfast. Do not dread, and do not fear. For the Lord your God is with you in all things, wherever you may go.”

³in the same manner that all things which are for life and piety have been given to us by his Divine virtue, through the plan of him who has called us to our own glory and virtue. ⁴Through Christ, he has given us the greatest and most precious promises, so that by these things you may become sharers in the Divine Nature, fleeing from the corruption of that desire which is in the world.

¹⁶For this reason, we are not insufficient. But it is as though our outer man is corrupted, while our inner man is renewed from day to day. ¹⁷For though our tribulation is, at the present time, brief and light, it accomplishes in us the weight of a sublime eternal glory, beyond measure. ¹⁸And we are contemplating, not the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are temporal, whereas the things that are not seen are eternal.

¹⁰Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not turn away, for I am your God. I have strengthened you, and I have assisted you, and the right hand of my just one has upheld you. ¹¹Behold, all who fight against you shall be confounded and ashamed. They will be as if they did not exist, and the men who contradict you will perish. ¹²You will seek them, and you will not find them. The men who rebel against you will be as if they did not exist. And the men who make war against you will be like something that has been consumed. ¹³For I am the Lord your God. I take you by your hand, and I say to you: Do not be afraid. I have helped you.

¹James, servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes of the dispersion, greetings. ²My brothers, when you have fallen into various trials, consider everything a joy, ³knowing that the proving of your faith exercises patience, ⁴and patience brings a work to perfection, so that you may be perfect and whole, deficient in nothing. ⁵But if anyone among you is in need of wisdom, let him petition God, who gives abundantly to all without reproach, and it shall be given to him. ⁶But he should ask with faith, doubting nothing. For he who doubts is like a wave on the ocean, which is moved about by the wind and carried away;

¹⁸And Jesus, drawing near, spoke to them, saying: “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹Therefore, go forth and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have ever commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, even to the consummation of the age.”

¹⁶All Scripture, having been divinely inspired, is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in justice,