- I press on toward the finishing line to win the heavenly prize to which God has called me in Christ Jesus.
- The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry. - Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of your opportunity. Let your speech always be gracious and seasoned with wisdom, so that you will know how to respond properly to all.
- Dispose my heart to follow your statutes
and to flee selfish gain. - When you fix your gaze upon it,
it is gone before you realize it.
For it suddenly sprouts wings
and flies up to the sky like an eagle. - Therefore, let us leave behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance toward maturity. We must not be forever laying the foundation: repentance for actions that lead to death, faith in God, instruction about baptisms and the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
- Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to all those on whom his favor rests. - May the Lord cause your love to increase and overflow for one another and for everyone else, just as our love does for you.
- I shall forgive them for their wicked deeds,
and I shall remember their sins no more. - Live in harmony with one another. Do not consider yourself to be better than others, but associate with the lowly, and never be conceited.
- May the God of perseverance and encouragement grant that you may live in harmony with one another, following in the example of Jesus Christ.
- While he was departing as they gazed upward toward the sky, suddenly two men dressed in white robes stood beside them, and they said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking up into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
- For God would not be so unjust as to ignore your work and the love that you have shown for his name by the services you have rendered to the saints and still continue to render.
- For I know full well the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and not for your misfortune, plans that will offer you a future filled with hope.
- This water prefigured Baptism, which now saves you. It does so not by the washing away of dirt from the body but by the pledge of a good conscience given to God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- Brethren, we must always give thanks to God for you, and it is only right that we do so. For your faith grows ever more, and the love that all of you have for one another continues to increase.
- The Lord does not delay in keeping his promise, as some think in terms of delay, but he is patient with you. It is not his wish that any should perish but rather that all should be brought to repentance.
- Indeed, it is seldom that anyone will die for a just person, although perhaps for a good person someone might be willing to die. Thus, God proved his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
- Keep in mind, therefore, that the Lord, your God, is God. He is a faithful God who keeps his covenant of mercy to the thousandth generation toward those who love him and observe his commandments.
- 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. - And God is able to enrich you with an abundance of every grace, so that, with all of your needs provided for, you may be able to produce a surplus of good works.
- And thus we can have confidence in him
that if we ask anything
that is in accordance with his will,
he hears us. - Beloved,
if our hearts do not condemn us,
we can approach God with confidence
and receive from him whatever we ask,
because we obey his commandments
and do whatever is pleasing to him. - The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord shine his face upon you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace. - Adulterers! Do you not know that love of the world results in enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not treat them harshly.The way of God is blameless,
and the Lord’s promise proves true;
he is a shield to all
who flee to him for safety.