| I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in the truth. | I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth. |
| Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. | Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come. |
| Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to desist. | Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. |
| Wealth is a ransom for a person's life, but the poor get no threats. | The rich can pay a ransom for their lives, but the poor won’t even get threatened. |
| Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. | Don’t long for “the good old days.” This is not wise. |
| But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” | As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.” |
| Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. | They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. |
| You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah | For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. |
| So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. | So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. |
| Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. | John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. |
| But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. | But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. |
| I shall walk at liberty, for I have sought your precepts. | I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments. |
| So we fasted and petitioned our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty. | So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer. |
| I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing; and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. | I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing. |
| Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. | Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. |
| Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. | Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses. |
| Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and of people. | Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. |
| Because I delivered the poor who cried, and the orphan who had no helper. The blessing of the wretched came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. | For I assisted the poor in their need and the orphans who required help. I helped those without hope, and they blessed me. And I caused the widows’ hearts to sing for joy. |
| Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us. | Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. |
| Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. | So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. |
| He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” | Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” |
| By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world. | This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. |
| But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. | Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. |
| Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. | Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. |
| Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. | 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. |
Related topics
Jesus
Jesus looked at them...
Prayer
Rejoice always, pray without...
Life
The LORD will keep...
Faith
So I tell you...
Joy
Rejoice always, pray without...
Listening
You must understand this...
Bible verse of the day
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquityand passing over the transgression
of the remnant of your possession?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in showing clemency.
Random Bible Verse
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.Next verse!With image