I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death. | That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his death. |
Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? | Or can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be scorched? |
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For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. | For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we will be saved by his life. |
Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. | Being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. |
Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. | Let no one seek his own, but each one his neighbor’s good. |
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. | With all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints. |
But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen— that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike. | Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen, how the Christ must suffer, and how, by the resurrection of the dead, he would be first to proclaim light both to these people and to the Gentiles. |
I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word. | I wait for Yahweh. My soul waits. I hope in his word. |
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. | But now apart from the law, a righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all those who believe. For there is no distinction. |
God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? | God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and he won’t do it? Or has he spoken, and he won’t make it good? |
Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. | For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don’t have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. |
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. | Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. |
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) | But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved. |
And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath. | Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day. |
Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. | For no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit. |
Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight—something the law of Moses could never do. | Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins; and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. |
And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. | Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant. |
For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. | Having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever. |
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. | As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive, as is happening today. |
I, yes I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear? | I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you, that you are afraid of man who shall die, and of the son of man who will be made as grass? |
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” | Now all this has happened that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel,” which is, being interpreted, “God with us.” |
O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. | God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water. |
He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. | He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness. You were healed by his wounds. |
So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. | Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober, and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. |
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. | Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. |