We love each other because he loved us first. | We love because He first loved us. |
I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. | Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. |
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And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. | And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. |
I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! | I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. |
But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me. | But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me. |
Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” | Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” |
He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. | He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. |
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. | Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. |
But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven. | However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. |
Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! | What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! |
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! | You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. |
And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. | Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. |
And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. | And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. |
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. | Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. |
I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. | Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. |
You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. | You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. |
For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. | He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. |
Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you. | Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life. |
But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. | But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. |
Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. | Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. |
Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. | We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. |
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. | There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. |
You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. | You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. |
I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. | I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. |
For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. | To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. |