| Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. | Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. |
| For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. | In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. |
| Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. | Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. |
| For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. | For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. |
| And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. | And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. |
| Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. | If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. |
| Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. | Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. |
| Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. | And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. |
| You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. | 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. |
| Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. | So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. |
| Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. | See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. |
| Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. | He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. |
| Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. | The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. |
| You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. | You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. |
| But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. | But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. |
| He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. | No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. |
| Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. | So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. |
| But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. | But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. |
| If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! | So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. |
| Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. | Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. |
| And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. | And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. |
| The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. | Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise him forever! |
| Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. | Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. |
| “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” | “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!” |
| His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ | The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ |
Bible verse of the day
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?Random Bible Verse
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most Highwill rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”Next verse!With image