| I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. | And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. |
| That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed. | Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other. |
| For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. | The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. |
| Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. | So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him. |
| And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. | And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. |
| For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. | Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. |
| My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. | My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart. |
| I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments. | I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands. |
| He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. | And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment. |
| The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. | The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. |
| Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. | Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. |
| I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. | ‘I am the Lord your God,’ I told them. ‘Follow my decrees, pay attention to my regulations, and keep my Sabbath days holy, for they are a sign to remind you that I am the Lord your God.’ |
| Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the Lord. | You must faithfully keep all my commands by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord. |
| Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. | Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. |
| But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. | 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. |
| Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. | Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. |
| Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. | Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. |
| Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. | My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life. |
| Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. | Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.” |
| Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. | So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. |
| And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. | In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. |
| If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. | If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. |
| Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee. | You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the laws and decrees he has given you. |
| Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. | So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. |
| Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. | Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them. |
Bible verse of the day
A fool despiseth his father's instruction:but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.