You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. | You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. |
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. | But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. |
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I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. | I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. |
For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. | For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. |
Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. | Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. |
For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. | For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. |
So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. | However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. |
If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. | For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. |
But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. | But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. |
And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. | And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. |
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. | In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. |
Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. | He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. |
In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short. | Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off. |
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. | But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. |
So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me.” | So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.” |
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. | For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. |
Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. | Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. |
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. | A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. |
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. | For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. |
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. | Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. |
Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. | So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. |
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! | When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? |
But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned. | But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. |
Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. | Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. |
So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. | Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. |