"It is necessary to pass through troubles on our way to the kingdom of God." I love that. I mean, I hate it but I love it. It's far more pleasant and fun to believe that as followers of Jesus, we should be shielded from any kind of tribulation. We often think that we shouldn't have to go through the hard stuff. We should just be allowed to breeze through life with Jesus on board Woo hoo. But it's silly. Bring the rule and reign of God to earth means we will encounter opposition. It's a fact of life. It's gonna happen. Realizing this and understanding that it is through this tribulation that we are building some serious muscle is important. A little resistance si what causes us to grow in strength. But I love how this passage says they encouraged each other in the faith- they reminded each other that "Hey, don't be shocked! We signed up for this!" If we're facing hard times, chances are we are doing something right! 10 more reps and we might actually start to see some muscle tone!
Easy to say (type), tough to remember.

Acts 14:22