If someone says, “I love God,” but at the same time hates his brother, he is a liar. For whoever does not love the brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the Spirit, and those of the Spirit are opposed to the flesh. They are in conflict with one another, so that you cannot do what you want.
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the eternal God, the Creator of the earth’s farthest boundaries. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding cannot be scrutinized.
When things are going well, be grateful for your blessings, and in times of adversity consider this: God has made both of them, so that we cannot predict with confidence what the future holds.
For six days work can be done, but the seventh is a Sabbath of rest, a holy assembly. You will do no work on it; it is a Sabbath of the Lord in all of your dwellings.
Do not associate with unbelievers. For what basis can there be for a partnership between righteousness and lawlessness? What do light and darkness have in common?
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from anything that can defile flesh or spirit, and thereby make our holiness perfect in the fear of God.
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we can approach God with confidence and receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do whatever is pleasing to him.
You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, what can be done to make it salty once again? It is no longer good for anything, and thus it is cast out and trampled underfoot.
Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where they will be destroyed by moth and rust and where thieves break in and steal. Rather, store up treasure for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves cannot break in and steal.
And let us consider how to spur one another to love and good works. Do not neglect to attend your assemblies, as some do, but rather encourage one another, especially since you can see the Day approaching.
What god can compare with you, the God who takes away guilt and forgives the transgressions of the remnant of your people? You will not allow your anger to fester forever, for your delight is in bestowing mercy.
If a man has recently been married, he is not to go off to battle nor have any other duty laid on him. He will be free to stay at home for one year so that he can bring happiness to the wife whom he has married.
We also know that the Son of God has come and given us understanding so that we can know the one who is true. And we are in the one who is true, since we are in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
The heart is more deceitful than any other thing, and it is also perverse. Who can uncover its secrets? I, the Lord, search the heart and probe the mind to reward all according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve.
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will ever snatch them from my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.
No trial has confronted you except what a person can stand. God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength. But together with the trial he will also provide a way out and the strength to bear it.
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them can fall to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even the hairs on your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth far more than any number of sparrows.
To him who in all things is able through the power that is at work within us to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus through all generations, forever and ever. Amen.