Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the Lord. Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom. For, “Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech.
They must turn from evil and do good;
they must seek peace and pursue it.” Better a patient person than a warrior,
one with self-control than one who takes a city. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” The one who gets wisdom loves life;
the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper. And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. The father of a righteous child has great joy;
a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me. Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a time of adversity. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever. Save me, Lord,
from lying lips
and from deceitful tongues. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty—
he is the King of glory. Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”Next verse!With image