| That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long. | My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long. |
| Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. | This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. |
| This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! | Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! |
| As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching. | You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. |
| And do everything with love. | Do everything in love. |
| Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? | He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? |
| But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. | But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. |
| That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. | Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. |
| One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?” Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.” Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” | One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” |
| But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! | But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. |
| And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! | Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. |
| That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. | Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. |
| I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. | I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. |
| Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. | As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. |
| That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. | That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. |
| Suppose you sin by violating one of the Lord’s commands. Even if you are unaware of what you have done, you are guilty and will be punished for your sin. | If anyone sins and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, even though they do not know it, they are guilty and will be held responsible. |
| 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 these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. |
| For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. | You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. |
| Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. | Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. |
| He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” | Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” |
| After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. | After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. |
| Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. | And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. |
| 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 everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. |
| For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. | For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. |
| When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. | The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. |
Related topics
Jesus
Jesus looked at them...
Sin
Don’t you realize that...
Speaking
The tongue can bring...
Worship
O LORD, I will...
Praise
O LORD, I will...
Encouragement
Do not be afraid...