| But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? | For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? |
| Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? | What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? |
| Don’t be like your ancestors who would not listen or pay attention when the earlier prophets said to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Turn from your evil ways, and stop all your evil practices.’ | “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “Return now from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not listen or pay attention to Me,” declares the Lord. |
| If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. | If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. |
| Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. | For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to rein in the whole body as well. |
| For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. | For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. |
| He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. | In the exercise of His will He gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. |
| If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. | And if I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory, but do not have love, it does me no good. |
| I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. | But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes. |
| Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.” | And the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.” |
| And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. | And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him. |
| If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. | And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, he is to be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. |
| Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends. | One who conceals an offense seeks love, But one who repeats a matter separates close friends. |
| Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise. | Turn to my rebuke, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. |
| If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. | If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. |
| 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 delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? |
| He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day. | He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise from the dead. |
| Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. | For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. |
| I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. | How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was beneficial, and teaching you publicly and from house to house. |
| 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 of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast. |
| Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. | “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “rather than that he would turn from his ways and live?” |
| For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. | To whom God willed to make known what the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles is, the mystery that is Christ in you, the hope of glory. |
| But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. | It is not this way among you, but whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant, and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your slave. |
| But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. | But if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served, which were beyond the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. |
| Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins. | Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. |
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Bible verse of the day
A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.