| But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. | But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. |
| 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. | This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. |
| So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. | Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. |
| I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. | I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. |
| Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. | About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. |
Bible verse of the day
Now this is what the Lord says to the family of Israel:“Come back to me and live!”