| By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. | This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. |
| The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel. | “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” |
| Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. | Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. |
| Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” | Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” |
| Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. | This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! |
| Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. | Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. |
| And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” | Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” |
| For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. | For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. |
| Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. | You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. |
| And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him. | But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?’ If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared. |
| Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. | Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. |
| The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. | The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. |
| For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. | And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
| Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out. | Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. |
| Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. | Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. |
| For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. | For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
| And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” | As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” |
| The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. | The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. |
| I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. | Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. |
| So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. | We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. |
| The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. | The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. |
| Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. | For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
| Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. | Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. |
| Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” | “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.” |
| A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. | There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother. |
Related topics
Jesus
Jesus looked at them...
Salvation
And there is salvation...
Repentance
If my people who...
Conversion
If my people who...
Second coming
Therefore you also must...
End times
Let no one deceive...
Bible verse of the day
My times are in your hand;rescue me from the hand of my enemies
and from my persecutors!