| When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways. | When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways. |
| In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. | For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. |
| Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” | Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” |
| “Listen to me and make up your minds to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “or I will bring a terrible curse against you. I will curse even the blessings you receive. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you have not taken my warning to heart.” | “If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.” |
| But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” | Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” |
| But the one who endures to the end will be saved. | But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. |
| 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.” | Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” |
| I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. | You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. |
| Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty! | All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. |
| But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears. | In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. |
| Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. | Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. |
| Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval. | Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. |
| Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord. | Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. |
| Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. | For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. |
| Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. | Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. |
| God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. | For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. |
| Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. | Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. |
| For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. | I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. |
| Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” | “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” |
| 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 answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” |
| Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection. | Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. |
| If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. | If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. |
| O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. | You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. |
| For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy. | For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. |
| He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. | He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless. |
Bible verse of the day
It is the same with my word.I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it.