Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. | Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. |
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. |
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And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. | And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. |
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! | Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. |
We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty; but even though he is just and righteous, he does not destroy us. | The Almighty—we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate. |
Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord. Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praises.” | Take with you words and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips.” |
And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. | And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. |
How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! | Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. |
Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.” | Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” |
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. | Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. |
Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us. | Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. |
So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. | And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. |
This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. | This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. |
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 tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. |
All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. | Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. |
Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. | Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. |
For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. | For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. |
So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. | Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” |
He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. | In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. |
Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. | We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. |
And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. | And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. |
Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. | For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. |
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” | For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” |
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. | For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. |
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded. | To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter. |