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. Rather, I chose you. And I appointed you to go out and bear fruit, fruit that will remain, so that the Father may give you whatever you ask him in my name. |
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. | Therefore, I say to you: ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. |
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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 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. |
So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me.” | Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not my own; rather, it comes from him who sent me.” |
In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents. | In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents. |
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. | Ever since the creation of the world the invisible attributes of God’s eternal power and divine nature have been clearly understood and perceived through the things he has made. Therefore, the conduct of these people is inexcusable. |
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. | Do not let kindness and fidelity leave you; fasten them around your neck and inscribe them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will gain favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. |
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 according to Scripture all things have been confined under sin, so that through faith in Jesus Christ what was promised might be given to those who believe. |
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. | God’s love was revealed to us in this way: God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through him. |
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. That Day cannot come before the final rebellion occurs and the lawless one is revealed, the son of destruction. He is the adversary who sets himself in opposition to, and exalts himself above, every so-called god or object of worship, and who even seats himself in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. |
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 one believes in the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. |
So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. | However, each one of you should love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife should respect 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. | If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. |
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 it is by grace that you have been saved through faith. This has not come from you but from the gift of God. It does not come from works, so that no one can 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 approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace when we are in need of help. |
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 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. |
So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. | So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own. |
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 suitable for its time, and he has given men a sense of past and future, but they never have the slightest comprehension of what God has wrought from beginning to 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. | In much the same manner will wisdom be sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have 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. | Hence, I advise you to be guided by the Spirit, so that you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. |
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. | Above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth, or use any oaths at all. Let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No.” Otherwise you may be condemned. |
He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. | He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live in righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. |
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. | I have told you this so that in me you may be in peace. In the world you will endure suffering. But take courage! I have overcome the world. |
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 opposed to the Spirit, and those of the Spirit are opposed to the flesh. They are in conflict with one another, so that you cannot do what you want. |
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. | I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you should also love one another. |