You were called 1, you were justified, you were washed, you were sanctified 2, you were ransomed 3, You were sealed 4.
You have been taught 5, you have been healed 6. You have been born again 7, you have been raised 8, you have been set free 9, you have been saved 10.
Thanks be to God! 11
1 1Cor 1.9 2 1Cor 6.11 3 1Pt 1.18 4 Eph 4.30 5 1Th 4.9 6 1Pt 2.24 7 1Pt 1.23 8 Col 3.1 9 Rom 6.22 10 Eph 2.5 11 Rom 6.17
Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 1 Christ has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice. 2
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. 3 He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. 4
God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 5 He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. The LORD laid on him the sins of us all. 6
For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. 7 We have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, 8 the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 9 For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. 10
Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. 11 Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered – to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing. 12
1 Jn 1.29 2 Heb 9.26 3 Isa 53.7 4 Eph 5.2 5 2Cor 5.21 6 Isa 53.5-6 7 Heb 10.10 8 Rom 5.9 9 1Pet 1.19 10 Heb 9.22 11 1Cor 5.7 12 Rev 5.12
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? 1
I have endured insults because of You, and shame has covered my face. 2 Everyone who sees me mocks me; they sneer and shake their heads: “He relies on the LORD; let Him rescue him; let the LORD deliver him, since He takes pleasure in him.” 3
I gave My back to those who beat Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spitting 4 I waited for sympathy, but there was none; for comforters, but found no one. 5
A gang of evildoers has closed in on me; they pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed; my heart is like wax, melting within me. My strength is dried up like baked clay; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You put me into the dust of death. 6
Into Your hand I entrust my spirit. 7 For You will not allow Your Faithful One to see decay. 8
1 Psa 22.1 2 Psa 69.7 3 Psa 22.7-8 4 Isa 50.6 5 Psa 69.20 6 Psa 22.14-17 7 Psa 31.5 8 Psa 16.10
We know love by this, that Christ laid down his life for us – and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 1 The love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. 2
Live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. 3 Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her so as to present the church to himself in splendour, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind – yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. No one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body. 4
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 5
I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 6
1 1Jn 3.16 2 2Cor 5.14-15 3 Eph 5.2 4 Eph 5.25-30 5 Rom 8.35-39 6 Eph 3.18-19
Jesus says
Believe in God; believe also in Me. 1 I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 2 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved. 3
Anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God. 4 For if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. 5
Unless you repent, you will all perish. 6 Unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 7
Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it. 8
If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it. 9
I tell the truth. 10 I say these things so that you may be saved. 11 Repent and believe in the good news! 12 I assure you: Anyone who believes has eternal life. 13
1 Jn 14.1 2 Jn 14.6 3 Jn 10.9 4 Jn 3.18 5 Jn 8.24 6 Lk 13.5 7 Mt 18.3 8 Mt 7.13-14 9 Lk 9.23-24 10 Jn 8.45 11 Jn 5.34 12 Mk 1.15 13 Jn 6.47
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1
Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. 2 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. 3
Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 4 Through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 5
For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 6 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 7
We groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 8 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 9
This is why we labour and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God. 10
1 1Pt 1.3 2 Phil 3.20-21 3 Heb 6.19 4 Rom 8.18 5 Gal 5.5 6 Rom 8.24-25 7 2Cor 4.18 8 Rom 8.23 9 1Jn 3.2 10 1Tim 4.10
Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. 1
For the wages of sin of death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 2 God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 3
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. 4 And all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 5
God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy 6 He has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. 7
It is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. 8 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 9 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 10 This is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 11
1 Eph 2.4-5 2 Rom 6.23 3 Eph 2.6-7 4 Eph 1.7 5 Rom 3.24 6 Rom 9.18 7 2Tim 1.9 8 Eph 2.8-9 9 Rom 9.16 10 2Cor 9.15 11 1Pt 5.12
Our sins testify against us and we know our iniquities: transgressing, and denying the LORD, and turning back from following our God. 1
But we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins. 2 Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his sins. 3
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. 4 He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all, 5 having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 6
He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 7
The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8
1 Isa 59.12-13 2 1Jn 2.1-2 3 Ac 10.43 4 1Pt 2.24 5 Isa 53.5-6 6 Col 2.13-14 7 Psa 103.10-12 8 1Jn 1.7
We have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God. 1 Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. 2
We have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ the one who is truly righteous. 3 For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity – the man Christ Jesus. 4
This High Priest of ours weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 5 He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. 6
Our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honour at God’s right hand. 7 Because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood last forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. 8
Since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 9
1 Heb 4.14 2 Heb 9.24 3 1Jn 2.1 4 1Tim 2.5 5 Heb 4.15 6 Heb 7.26 7 Heb 10.12 8 Heb 7.24-25 9 Heb 10.21-22
God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. 1 We have passed out of death into life. 2
We were buried with Christ by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life, 3 raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God. 4
According to his great mercy, God has caused us to be born again. 5 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth. 6
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, 7 born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 8
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come, 9 the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 10
We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, 11 created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. 12
1 Eph 2.4-5 2 1Jn 3.14 3 Rom 6.4 4 Col 2.12 5 1Pt 1.3 6 Jam 1.18 7 1Jn 5.1 8 Jn 1.13 9 2Cor 5.17 10 Col 3.10 11 Eph 2.10 12 Eph 4.24
God and Jesus says
I examine the mind, I test the heart to give to each according to what his actions deserve. 1 The cowards, unbelievers, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars – their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death. 2
But the righteous one will live by his faith. 3 The slave whose master finds him working when he comes will be rewarded. 4
Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come inherit the kingdom prepares for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me.
I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.” 5
Whoever gives just a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple – I assure you: He will never lose his reward! 6
Love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great. 7 I know your works. 8
Look! I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me to repay each person according to what he has done. 9
1 Jer 17.10 2 Rev 21.8 3 Hab 2.4 4 Lk 12.43 5 Mt 25.34-36,40 6 Mt 10.42 7 Lk 6.35 8 Rev 3.8 9 Rev 22.12
I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me. 1 I do not run like someone running aimlessly. 2
One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 3
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 4 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 5
Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 6
Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. 7
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 8 I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day. 9
1 Ac 20.24 2 1Cor 9.26 3 Phil 3.13-14 4 Gal 5.7-8 5 1Cor 9.24 6 Heb 12.1-3 7 Heb 12.12-13 8 1Cor 9.25 9 2Tim 4.7-8
God saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. 1 For in one Spirit we were all baptised. 2
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 3 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. 4
God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, 5 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. 6
Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 7 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 8
We worship by the Spirit of God. 9 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 10
It is the Spirit who gives life. 11 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 12
1 Titus 3.4-5 2 1Cor 12.13 3 Gal 4.6 4 Rom 8.16 5 Rom 5.5 6 Eph 1.14 7 1Cor 2.12 8 1Jn 4.13 9 Phil 3.3 10 Rom 8.6 11 Jn 6.63 12 Gal 5.22-25
It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” 1
I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. 2
Pray that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 3 that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message. 4
Pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honoured, 5 so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. 6
Pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith. 7
Pray that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed. 8
You help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favour granted us in answer to the prayers of many. 9
1 Rom 15.20-21 2 Rom 15.30 3 Eph 6.19 4 Col 4.3-4 5 2Th 3.1 6 2Cor 4.15 7 2Th 3.2 8 Rom 15.31-32 9 2Cor 1.11
Zion, herald of good news, go up on a high mountain. Raise your voice loudly. Raise it, do not be afraid! 1
Go and spread the news of the kingdom of God, 2 the good news about Jesus, 3 the message of the cross. 4
Tell the people all about this life. 5 Report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you. 6
Don’t be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, 7 because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes. 8
Proclaim His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonderful works among all peoples. 9 For He has done glorious things. Let this be known throughout the earth. 10
Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 11
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the herald, who proclaims peace, who brings news of good things, who proclaims salvation. 12
1 Isa 40.9 2 Lk 9.60 3 Ac 8.35 4 1Cor 1.18 5 Ac 5.20 6 Mk 5.19 7 2Tim 1.8 8 Rom 1.16 9 Psa 96.2-3 10 Isa 12.5 11 Mt 28.19 12 Isa 52.7
Do not despise the LORD’s instruction, my son, and do not loathe His discipline; for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, just as a father, the son he delights in. 1 We had natural fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but He does it for our benefit, so that we can share His holiness. 2
When we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, so that we may not be condemned with the world. 3 God certainly does all these things to a man in order to turn him back from the Pit, so he may shine with the light of life. 4
Should we accept only good from God and not adversity? 5 No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 6
We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God. 7 See how happy the man is God corrects; so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty. For He crushes but also binds up; He strikes, but His hands also heal. 8 Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time. 9
1 Prov 3.11-12 2 Heb 12.9-10 3 1Cor 11.32 4 Job 33.29-30 5 Job 2.10 6 Heb 12.11 7 Rom 8.28 8 Job 5.17-18 9 1Pt 5.6
God says
I the LORD your God am holy. 1
You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live. 2 To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike? 3
Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength. 4
My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 5
I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right. 6
I live forever. 7 I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 8
I am compassionate. 9 The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty. 10 I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight. 11
1 Lev 19.2 2 Exo 33.20 3 Isa 46.5 4 Isa 45.24 5 Isa 55.8-9 6 Isa 45.19 7 Deut 32.40 8 Mal 3.6 9 Exo 22.27 10 Exo 34.6-7 11 Jer 9.24
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, 1 the Ancient of Days, 2 the LORD of hosts, 3 the Mighty One of Jacob, 4 the Holy One of Israel. 5
God is the King, 6 the blessed and only Sovereign, 7 the Majesty on high, 8 the Father of glory, 9 the Judge of all. 10
The LORD is the strength of his people, 11 the Rock, 12 the saving refuge of his anointed, 13 the Redeemer, 14 the fountain of living waters, 15 the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas. 16
1 Isa 40.28 2 Dan 7.9 3 Zep 2.9 4 Isa 49.26 5 Isa 41.14 6 Psa 47.7 7 1Tim 6.15 8 Heb 1.3 9 Eph 1.17 10 Heb 12.23 11 Psa 28.8 12 Deut 32.4 13 Psa 28.8 14 Isa 49.7 15 Jer 2.13 16 Psa 65.5
Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. 1
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 2 The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing. 3
Whoever does evil has not seen God. 4 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. 5 Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 6
The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. 7 The LORD has made his light to shine upon us. 8 And we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 9
The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 10
The Lord said, “I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” 11
1 Jn 3.3 2 1Cor 2.14 3 1Cor 1.18 4 3Jn 11 5 Prov 4.19 6 1Jn 2.11 7 Psa 146.8 8 Psa 118.27 9 Jn 1.14 10 2Cor 4.4 11 Ac 26.15,17-18
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 1 Blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me. 2 Blessed be the LORD, my rock. 3
The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. 4
Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great. 5 Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above and praise. You are the LORD, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the host of heaven worships you. 6
All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your faithful shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power, to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendour of your kingdom. 7 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever. 8
1 Psa 103.1 2 Psa 31.21 3 Psa 144.1 4 Job 1.21 5 Psa 104.1 6 Neh 9.5-6 7 Psa 145.10-12 8 Psa 145.1-2
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts. 1
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 2 You have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith – more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 3
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trails of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 4 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trail, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 5
He has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness. 6 Each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 7 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. 8
1 Prov 17.3 2 1Pt 4.12 3 1Pt 1.6-7 4 Jam 1.2-4 5 Jam 1.12 6 Ac 17.31 7 1Cor 3.13 8 1Cor 4.5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2
By the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 3 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light"; and there was light. 4
In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. 5
God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. 6 Great are the works of the LORD; they are studied by all who delight in them. 7
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come. 8 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 9
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 10
1 Jn 1.1-3 2 Gen 1.1 3 2Pt 3.5 4 Gen 1.2-3 5 Exo 20.11 6 Gen 1.31 7 Psa 111.2 8 Eccles 12.1 9 Rom 1.18-20 10 Rom 1.25
Jesus says
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. 1
Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 2 I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. 3
Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 4 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. 5
If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where “the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.” 6
Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. 7 Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. 8
Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. You must be born again. 9
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. 10
1 Mt 4.17 2 Mt 7.21 3 Mt 5.20 4 Lk 13.24 5 Mt 7.13-14 6 Mk 9.47-48 7 Mk 10.15 8 Mt 19.23-24,26 9 Jn 3.5 10 Jn 10.9
There is a God in heaven 1 who is high and lifted up, 2 who is righteous and mighty, 3 who is great and awesome, 4 who is worthy to be praised, 5 who alone does great wonders, 6 who gives life to all things, 7 who justifies the ungodly, 8 who raises the dead, 9 who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness, 10 who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 11 who inhabits eternity, 12 who is and who was and who is to come. 13
The LORD lives! 14 The LORD, he is God. 15 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 16
1 Dan 2.28 2 Isa 57.15 3 Job 34.17 4 Neh 4.14 5 2Sam 22.4 6 Psa 136.4 7 1Tim 6.13 8 Rom 4.5 9 2Cor 1.9 10 Jer 9.24 11 Eph 1.11 12 Isa 57.15 13 Rev 1.8 14 Psa 18.46 15 1Kin 18.39 16 Psa 33.8
Prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace. 1
I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. 2 I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. Now I rejoice in what I am suffering. 3
And if I perish, I perish. 4 I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die for the name of the Lord Jesus. 5
I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 6
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 7
Do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord. Rather join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 8
1 Ac 20.23-24 2 2Tim 2.10 3 Col 1.24 4 Est 4.16 5 Ac 21.13 6 Phil 3.10-11 7 Phil 1.20-21 8 2Tim 1.8
My feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills.
When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. 1
Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. 2 For the wages of sin death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 3
You who believe in the name of the Son of God may know that you have eternal life. 4
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. 5 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. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret —it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed. 6
They will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. 7
1 Psa 73.2-5,16-17 2 Phil 3.19 3 Rom 6.23 4 1Jn 5.13 5 Prov 23.17 6 Psa 37.7-9 7 Mt 25.46
You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? 1
But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. 2
Love is not jealous or boastful or proud. 3 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.
For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. So get rid of all evil behaviour. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy. 4
A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones. 5 Don’t envy the wicked.
For evil people have no future. 6
Don’t envy those who do wrong. For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither. Trust in the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires. 7
1 1Cor 3.3 2 Jam 3.14-16 3 1Cor 13.4 4 1Pt 1.22-23,2.1 5 Prov 14.30 6 Prov 24.19-20 7 Psa 37.1-4
Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.” 1
God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble. 2
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 3
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer. 4 The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. 5
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. 6
1 Lk 18.9-14 2 Jam 4.6 3 Mt 6.5-8 4 1Pt 3.12 5 Jam 5.16-18 6 Psa 34.17
