| Reflect on the Lord and his strength; seek his face continually. | Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him. |
| But he answered me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” Hence, I will boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell within me. | Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. |
| 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. | The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve. |
| Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually. | Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him. |
| A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in abundance. | The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. |
| Therefore, let us cease passing judgment on one another, but rather judge never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. | So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. |
| Jesus answered, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive in this age a hundred times more houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and lands—as well as 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.” |
| But I have had help from God to this very day, and I stand here and testify to both the lowly and the great. I assert nothing more than what the Prophets and Moses said would occur: that the Christ must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light to the people and to the Gentiles. | 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. |
| If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is preferable for you to lose one part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. | So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. |
| For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so too, through Christ, do we receive our consolation. | For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. |
| Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vanity, but humbly regard others as better than yourselves. | Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. |
| You will show me the path to life; you will fill me with joy in your presence and everlasting delights at your right hand. | You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. |
| Rather, professing truth and love, we will in all things grow into him who is the head, Christ. | Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. |
| For the carved images of the nations are powerless; they are nothing more than wood cut from a forest, fashioned with a knife by craftsmen and embellished with silver and gold. Then they are fastened with hammers and nails to prevent them from toppling. Like scarecrows in a cucumber field they are unable to speak, and they must be carried from place to place since they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they can do no harm, nor do they have any power to do good. | Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good. |
| When riches increase, so do those who are eager to accumulate them, and those who have accumulated them must remain content simply to feast their eyes on them. | The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! |
| The Lord will protect you against all evil; he will watch over your life. The Lord will watch over your coming and your going both now and forevermore. | The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. |
| Whom do I have in heaven except you? And besides you there is nothing else I desire on earth. | Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. |
| He replied, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ and said: ‘That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh’? And so they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.” | “Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’” And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.” |
| What then shall we say? Should we persist in sin in order that grace may abound? Of course not! We have died to sin. How can we live in it any longer? | Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? |
| Then, after completing their fasting and prayer, they laid their hands on them and sent them off. | So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. |
| And as we gaze upon the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, all of us are being transformed into that same image from glory to glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. | So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. |
| As a result, you are no longer strangers and foreigners. Rather, you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. | So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. |
| Bring the tithes in full into the treasury so that there may be food in my house. Put me thus to the test, says the Lord of hosts, and see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down blessings upon you without measure. | “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!” |
| What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his very life? Or what can he give in exchange for his life? | And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? |
| Amen, amen, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. | I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. |
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Bible verse of the day
A fool spurns his father’s correction,but whoever heeds admonition is prudent.