| I have tried hard to find you— don’t let me wander from your commands. | I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. |
| Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. | Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. |
| And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. | When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. |
| If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. | Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. |
| Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them. | Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. |
| First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. | Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. |
| But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me. | But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me. |
| I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free. | I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. |
| But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. | But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. |
| 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? | What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? |
| Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. | Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. |
| Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! | You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. |
| O Lord, I have come to you for protection; don’t let me be disgraced. Save me, for you do what is right. | In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. |
| 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. |
| I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. | Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. |
| Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. | Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. |
| Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. | Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. |
| Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! | Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. |
| Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! | Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. |
| I have been the Lord your God ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior. | But I have been the Lord your God ever since you came out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. |
| May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed. | May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. |
| “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” | “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. |
| I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart. | I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart. |
| Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! | Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. |
| “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” | Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” |
Bible verse of the day
The grass withers and the flowers fade,but the word of our God stands forever.