What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you. Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace. Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;
may your love and faithfulness always protect me. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. Before a downfall the heart is haughty,
but humility comes before honor. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. So is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit. You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy. Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens. Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. What a person desires is unfailing love;
better to be poor than a liar. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. All day long he craves for more,
but the righteous give without sparing. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Hatred stirs up conflict,
but love covers over all wrongs. Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.