Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.

Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. . . .

Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.

Of David. Vindicate me, O LORD! For I have walked with integrity; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. Test me, O LORD, and try me; examine my heart and mind. For Your loving devotion is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth. I do not sit with deceitful men, nor keep company with hypocrites. I hate the mob of evildoers, and refuse to sit with the wicked. . . .

All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed out by the LORD.

who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it? Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This man could not finish what he started to build.’

And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation. For no such prophecy was ever brought forth by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.

In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God. Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval. For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer. Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience. . . .

Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.

Can two walk together without agreeing where to go?

For no word from God will ever fail.”

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful.

Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.

Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you. Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?

Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.

Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share, treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was called the Italian Regiment. He and all his household were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to the people and prayed to God regularly. One day at about the ninth hour, he had a clear vision of an angel of God who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear and asked, “What is it, Lord?” The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have ascended as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to call for a man named Simon who is called Peter. . . .

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’

This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near. John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood, . . .

Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices,

Now to Him who is able to do so much more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,

The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.

You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. . . .

But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”

What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved.

Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but because it is God’s will; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;

For He says: “In the time of favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!

For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting to the Macedonians that since last year you in Achaia were prepared to give. And your zeal has stirred most of them to do likewise.

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Who has aroused one from the east and called him to his feet in righteousness? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.”

“My teaching is not My own,” Jesus replied. “It comes from Him who sent Me.

But the seeds on good soil are those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, cling to it, and by persevering produce a crop.

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

He who walks in uprightness fears the LORD, but the one who is devious in his ways despises Him.

When I was a son to my father, tender and the only child of my mother,

For Your loving devotion is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth.

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; save me by Your righteousness.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Those who have believing masters should not show disrespect because they are brothers, but should serve them all the more, since those receiving their good service are beloved believers. Teach and encourage these principles.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

And Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your fathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods.

through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death.