| God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? | God is not a man, that He would lie, Nor a son of man, that He would change His mind; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? |
| 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 desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want. |
| Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. | Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. |
| I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. | I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. |
| 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 but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. |
| If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. | For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, this is the one who will save it. |
| For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God. | For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age. |
| If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. | For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. |
| For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. | You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by the Law; you have fallen from grace. |
| Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen.” | And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.” |
| The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. | The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly. |
| Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” | And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” |
| If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. | For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. |
| He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” | And sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” |
| So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. | So that, as sin reigned in death, so also grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. |
| For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. | For you have been called for this purpose, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you would follow in His steps. |
| They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. | Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. |
| John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” | And he would answer and say to them, “The one who has two tunics is to share with the one who has none; and the one who has food is to do likewise.” |
| Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” | Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” |
| Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” | And He summoned the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” |
| Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. | Not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you would inherit a blessing. |
| As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them. | But the one who boasts is to boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself that is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. |
| See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. | See how great a love the Father has given us, that we would be called children of God; and in fact we are. For this reason the world does not know us: because it did not know Him. |
| For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. | For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, by having served and by still serving the saints. |
| But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. | But He knows the way I take; When He has put me to the test, I will come out as gold. My foot has held on to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. |
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