43 Bible Verses about Challenges

I set before you today life and good, death and evil. I command you today to Love Jehovah your God, follow his directions, and obey his commandments, laws, and rules. Then you will live, your population will increase, and Jehovah your God will bless you in the land that you are about to enter and possess. If your hearts turn away, and you do not listen, you might be tempted to bow down to other gods and worship them.read more.
If you do, I tell you today that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live for a long time in the land that you are about to possess when you cross the Jordan River.

If you will obey me and are faithful to the terms of my covenant, then out of all the nations you will be my own special possession, for all the earth is mine. You will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation. These are the words you must speak to the children of Israel.'

Keep the words of this covenant to do them that you may prosper in all that you do.

Seek good and not evil, that you may live. Jehovah, the God of Hosts, will be with you, as you have said. Hate evil, and love good! Establish justice in the gate. It may be that Jehovah, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Elijah came near to all the people and said: How long will you balance (bounce back and forth) between two opinions? If Jehovah is God, then give worship to him. If Baal is, give worship to him. The people did not answer him.

Honor Jehovah and serve him sincerely and in truth. Get rid of the gods that your ancestors used to worship in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve only Jehovah. If you are not willing to serve him, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors worshiped in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living. As for my family and me, we will serve Jehovah.'

Go and proclaim this message to the north: 'Come back, unfaithful Israel. It is Jehovah speaking. I will no longer frown on you because I am merciful,' declares Jehovah. 'I will no longer be angry with you. Admit that you have done wrong! You have rebelled against Jehovah your God. You have given yourself to foreign gods under every large tree. You have not obeyed me,' says Jehovah. Return, you disobedient people, proclaims Jehovah. I am your husband. I will take you, one from every city and two from every family, and bring you to Zion.'

Then Jesus told his disciples: If any man wants to follow me (be mine), let him deny (disown) himself, and take up his stake and follow me (Greek: akoloutheo moi, let him be following me) (accompany me) (be in the same way with me). He who wants to save his life will lose it. He who is willing to lose his life for my sake will find it. What will a man profit, if he gains the whole world, and gives up his life? What will a man give in exchange for his life?

He then spoke to both his disciples and the crowd. He said: If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his stake and follow me. Whoever would save his life will lose it. Whoever would lose his life for my sake and the sake of the Good News will save it. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?

He told them all: If any man would come after me let him deny himself. Let him take up his stake (of self-denial) daily, and follow me. He who would save his life shall lose it. He who would lose his life for my sake shall save it. For what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose or forfeit his own self?

Jesus then replied: If you wish to be complete, go sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. You will have wealth in heaven. Then follow me!

Jesus lovingly looked at him and said: You lack one thing. Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.

When Jesus heard it he said to him, You lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.

On the way a man came to him and said: I will follow you wherever you go. Jesus told him: Foxes have holes and birds of heaven have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head. He told another: Follow me. But he said: Lord first let me go bury my father.read more.
Let the dead bury the dead. You go and publish abroad the kingdom of God. Jesus replied. Another said: I will follow you Lord, but first let me go say good by to my relatives. Jesus responded: No man, who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.

A scribe came to him and said: Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. Jesus replied: Foxes have holes, and the birds of heaven have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head. One of his disciples said: Lord, first allow me to go bury my father.read more.
But Jesus said to him: Follow me; and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

The third time Jesus said to him: Simon, son of John, do you have affection for me? Peter was grieved. Because he said to him the third time, do you have affection for me? Peter replied: Lord, you know all things; you know I have affection for you! Jesus said to him: Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I tell you, when you were young you dressed yourself and walked wherever you wanted. But when you become old, you stretch out your hands and another dresses you, and carries you where you do not want to go. Now this he spoke, signifying by what manner of death he should glorify God. After he spoke he said: Follow me.

So watch how you behave. Admonish your brother to repent when he sins. Forgive him when he repents.

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom. Teach and admonish one another with psalms, praises to God, and spiritual songs. Sing with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Never hate your brother in your heart. Be sure to correct your neighbor so that you will not be guilty of sinning along with him.

We ask you brothers to warn the unruly and comfort the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient with all men.

If anyone does not obey our word in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Do not regard him as an enemy. Admonish him as a brother.

preach the word; be urgent in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching.

Speak and exhort and reprove these things with all authority. Let no man despise you.

A divisive and dissentious man should be admonished, and after two times have nothing to do with that man.

You put up with them for years. You admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they did not listen. So you gave them up into the hands of the peoples of the lands.

But they were hard-hearted, and went against your authority. They turned their backs on your law, and murdered your prophets. These prophets gave witness against them with the purpose of turning them back again to you. They did much to make you angry.

Jehovah sent Nathan to David. Nathan came to him and said: There were two men in a certain city. One was rich and the other was poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle. But the poor man had only one little female lamb that he bought. He raised her, and she grew up in his home with his children. She would eat his food and drink from his cup. She rested in his arms and was like a daughter to him.read more.
Now, a visitor came to the rich man. The rich man thought it would be a pity to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler. So he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the traveler. David became very angry with the rich man. He said: I swear by the living God Jehovah that the man who did this should die! For doing such a cruel thing he should pay back four times for the lamb he took, for he had no compassion. You are that man! Nathan said to David. And this is what the Lord Jehovah the God of Israel says: 'I made you king of Israel and rescued you from Saul.

They opposed King Uzziah. They said to him: Uzziah, you have no right to burn incense as an offering to Jehovah. That right belongs to the priests, Aaron's descendants, who have been given the holy task of burning incense. Get out of the holy place because you have been unfaithful. Jehovah God will not honor you for this.

Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices.

Plead with your mother (your nation), for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband. Let her put away her acts of adultery from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts!

Peter said: Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the money from the land sale? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your power? Why did you conceive this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.

When Cephas came to Antioch, I openly resisted him because he was completely wrong. He ate with the people of the nations until some men James sent arrived. When they arrived, he drew back and separated himself. He feared those who were of the circumcised people. The rest of the Jews were hypocrites with him, so much that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.read more.
I saw that they did not walk uprightly according to the truth of the good news. Therefore I said to Cephas, in front of them all: If you, being a Jew, live as the nations do and not as the Jews, why do you compel the people of the nations to live like the Jews?

Does a clay pot dare argue with its maker, a pot that is like all the others? Does the clay ask the potter what he is doing? Does the pot complain that its maker has no skill? Do we dare say to our parents: 'Why did you make me like this?' Jehovah, the Holy God of Israel, the one who shapes the future says: You have no right to question me about my children or to tell me what I ought to do!

He takes away and who can hinder God? Who can say to God: 'What are you doing?'

Nation of Israel, can I do with you as this potter does with clay? Nation of Israel, You are in my hands like the clay in the potter's hands.

Jehovah of Hosts is determined to do this. He has stretched out his arm to punish, and no one can stop him.

I know that you can do all things and no plan of yours can be thwarted.

I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: 'My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'

All the inhabitants of the earth are considered as nothing. He does according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth. None can stop him, or say to him: 'What do you do?'

He was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts. His dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will.

Like a lion coming out of the thick woods along the Jordan River up to the green pastureland, I will come and make the Edomites run away suddenly from their country. Then the leader I choose will rule the nation. Who can be compared to me? Who would dare challenge me? What ruler could oppose me?

I will suddenly chase them from their places like a lion coming out of the jungle along the Jordan River into pastureland. I will appoint over Babylon whomever I choose. Who is like me? Who can challenge me? Is there any leader who can stand up to me?

He prayed aloud: O Jehovah, God of our ancestors, you rule in heaven over all the nations of the world. You are powerful and mighty. No one can oppose you.