Category
VERSES ABOUT FORGIVENESS
Forgiving others brings such freedom. It's like taking off a heavy backpack you've been carrying for way too long. There's a real beauty to forgiveness, and anyone who's experienced both giving and receiving it knows what I mean. God is our ultimate example, right? He shows us how it's done and calls us to practice it every single day.
So, I encourage you to forgive, just as Christ forgives you – every single day. It's time to let go and be free. Let's be real, in this life, someone is bound to hurt or offend you. But even then, we're called to learn to forgive and love again. Get that bitterness out of your system. Trust me, it'll help you grow and move forward. It'll even strengthen your relationship with God.
As children of God, we rejoice because we've received forgiveness for our sins through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. But it's important to remember that just as we've been forgiven, our hearts need to be ready to forgive others. Mark 11:251 says, "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses." As long as we repent and are faithful in forgiving others, God will completely forgive us. And that's when we can truly have a fresh start!
What I tell you is this: You should love the people who want to hurt you. If people cause you to have trouble, pray that God would help them.
Jesus then said, ‘I say this to you who are listening carefully to me. Love the people who want to hurt you. Do good things to people that hate you.Say good things to people that say bad things against you. Pray for people who give you pain.
Instead, ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. If you help your enemy, he will become ashamed. He will be sorry because of what he did to you.’
Then Jesus said, ‘When other people do wrong things against you, you must forgive them. Then God, your Father in heaven, will also forgive you for the wrong things that you have done.But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive you.’
Instead, help each other and be kind to each other. Forgive one another. Remember that God has forgiven you because of what Christ has done.
Do not become angry with each other. If you think that someone has done something wrong against you, forgive them. Remember that the Lord has forgiven you. So you should also forgive other people.
Jesus said, ‘Father, these soldiers do not know what they are doing. So please forgive them.’ The soldiers then picked up Jesus' clothes for themselves. They played a game with dice to decide who would receive each piece of his clothes.
Then Peter came to talk to Jesus. He asked, ‘Lord, if another believer does wrong things against me many times, how many times should I forgive him? Must I forgive him as many as seven times for the wrong things that he has done against me?’Jesus replied, ‘I do not say only seven times. I say you should forgive him 77 times!’
If someone has done bad things against you, do not do bad things back to them. Try to live in a good way, so that people will respect you.If it is possible, always try to live in peace with other people.
If people do bad things to you, do not do anything bad to them in return. If people insult you, do not insult them in return. Instead, pray that God will bless those people. That is what God wants you to do. Then you will receive the gift of God's blessing.
—28— Do not shout with joy when your enemy falls down. Do not be happy when his foot slips.
If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat. If he is thirsty, give him some water to drink.If you help him, he will become ashamed, and the Lord will bless you with good things.
But God has shown us how much he loves us. Even when we still did not obey God, Christ died on our behalf.
Someone might say, ‘I love God.’ But if he says that and he hates another Christian, he is telling a lie. He does not love other believers that he can see. So he surely cannot love God when he cannot see God.This is the command that God has given us: Anyone who loves him must love other Christians too.
But I am telling you to love people who want to hurt you. Do good things to them. Lend things to people even though you may not receive your things back again. Then God will prepare good things for you. He is kind even to people who do not say “thank you”. He is kind even to very bad people. If you live like this, you will show that you really are children of the powerful God who is over all.
I give a new rule to you. Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you.In this way, everyone will know that you are my disciples. They will know it, if you really love each other.’
If I love people, I will be patient. I will be kind. I will not be jealous of other people. I will not be proud or boast.If I love people, I will be polite. I will not just want to please myself. I will not quickly become angry. If someone does a wrong thing against me, I will not keep it in my thoughts.If I love people, I will not be happy when wicked things happen. Instead, I will be happy when things happen that are right and true.If I love people, I will always accept their problems. I will always believe them. I will always hope for what is best. I will always be patient in any kind of trouble.
You are God's children and he loves you very much. So you must try to be like him.You should learn more and more to do the things that please the Lord.People whose minds are in the dark do things that have no good purpose. Keep away from wrong things like that. Instead, show how bad those things really are.People like that should be ashamed of the things that they do secretly. Those things are too bad for us even to talk about.But when God's light shines on something, people can see clearly its true nature.Everything that becomes clear to see is in the light. That is why it says: ‘Wake up, you people who are asleep! Rise up from among the dead people! Then Christ will shine his light on you.’ So you must be very careful how you live. Live like people who are wise. Do not live like fools.Many bad things are happening in these days. So, whenever you have a chance to do something good, do as much as you can.Do not live like fools. But instead, understand what the Lord wants you to do.Do not drink too much wine so that you become drunk. That will destroy your life. Instead, let God's Spirit fill you.He will help you to speak to each other with all kinds of spiritual songs. Sing psalms from the Bible, and Christian songs. Praise the Lord with songs from inside yourselves.Show that you love other people. Remember how much Christ loved us. He gave himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. He offered himself in a way that pleased God, like a sacrifice with a lovely smell.
My friends, if someone has done bad things to you, do not try to punish them yourselves. Instead, let God be angry with them and punish them. This is what is written in the Bible: ‘The Lord God says, “When people do something wrong, I am the one who will punish them. I will pay them back.” ’
How far is the east from the west? The Lord has taken our sins further away than that! He no longer says that we are guilty.
Continue to love each other very much. That is more important than anything else. If you love people, you will forgive them for any wrong things that they have done.
Do not be jealous of other people. Do not become angry or shout at them. Do not quarrel with other people or insult them. Do not do anything or say anything that will hurt other people.Instead, help each other and be kind to each other. Forgive one another. Remember that God has forgiven you because of what Christ has done.
Jesus then said, ‘You also know that God's Law says: “If somebody destroys your eye, then you should destroy that person's eye. If somebody destroys your tooth, then you should destroy that person's tooth.”But what I tell you is this. If somebody does something bad to you, do not do anything against him. Somebody may hit you on one side of your face. Then you should also let him hit the other side of your face.
Instead, we should agree that we have done wrong things and tell that to God. Then God will forgive us for our sins. He always does what he has promised to do. He always does what is right. He will forgive us and he will make us clean again, whatever bad things we may have done.
We have forgiven people who have done wrong things to us. In the same way, please forgive us for the wrong things that we have done.
So you should tell each other about any wrong things that you have done. Then you will be able to pray for each other, so that God makes you well again. When a good person prays to God, God does powerful things.
Do everything that you can to live in peace with all people. Be faithful to the Lord. Nobody will see the Lord unless they are holy.Remember that God is very kind. Nobody should refuse to let God help them. Make sure that nobody among you causes trouble so that people turn against God. A person who is angry against God is like poison. He spoils many other people's lives so that God does not accept them.
If you forgive people when they hurt you, they will still love you. But if you continue to talk about what they have done, they will no longer be your friends.
Be careful how you live. If another believer does something wrong, warn him about it. He may say, “I am sorry for what I did. I will not do it again.” If he says that, you must forgive him.It will happen quickly like that, on the day when I, the Son of Man, show myself clearly.On that day, a person who is up on the roof of his house must not go back down into the house. He must not get his things that are inside the house to take with him. In the same way, people that are working outside in their fields must not go back to their homes.Remember what happened to Lot's wife. Whoever wants to keep his own life safe will lose it. But whoever agrees to lose his life will have true life.I tell you this. At that time, two people will be sleeping in one bed. God will take one of them away but he will leave the other one behind.Two women will be preparing food together in the same place. God will take one of them away but he will leave the other one behind.’Jesus' disciples asked him, ‘Lord, where will this happen?’ Jesus replied, ‘If a dead body is lying somewhere, vultures will come together in that place.’Your brother may do a bad thing against you seven times in one day. He may come to you each time and say, “I am sorry for what I did. I will not do it again.” If he does that, you must forgive him every time.’
Christ has accepted you, so you must accept each other. In that way you will be praising God.
But when you stand up to pray, first you must forgive other people. If anyone has done something bad against you, forgive that person. If you do forgive them, your Father in heaven will forgive you. God will forgive you for the wrong things that you have done.’
God has chosen you to be his own special people. You belong to him and he loves you very much. So this is how you should live: Be kind to other people and help them. Do not think that you are better than other people. Instead, respect them and be patient with them.Do not become angry with each other. If you think that someone has done something wrong against you, forgive them. Remember that the Lord has forgiven you. So you should also forgive other people.
Happy are the people who are kind and who forgive other people. God will forgive people like that.
If someone is wise, he controls his anger. When anyone hurts him, he is careful to forget it.
Love each other truly like brothers and sisters. Be happy to give honour to other Christians.
Jesus then said, ‘Do not judge anyone, to say that they are a bad person. If you do that, God will judge you in the same way.If he asks you for a fish, you would not give him a snake.You may be bad, but even you know how to give good things to your children. Your Father in heaven knows much better than you do how to give good things to his children. He will give good things to everyone who asks him.So do the good things for other people that you would want them to do for you. That is true in everything you do. That is what God's Law and the messages of God's prophets teach us.’‘Go in through the narrow gate to get true life with God. There is a wide gate that is easy to go through. The wide path is easy to travel on. Many people find that wide gate, but it is the way that goes to God's final punishment.It is difficult to go through the small gate. And it is difficult to walk on the narrow road. But when you do go that way, you will get true life. Not many people find that narrow gate.’‘Some people say that they are prophets from God. But their words are false. They seem to be like sheep that are not dangerous. But they are really like hungry wild dogs. What they teach will hurt you.You will know these people by the way that they live. The things that they do are like their fruit. Grapes do not grow on thorn bushes. Figs do not grow on weeds.Good fruit grows on a tree that is good. Bad fruit grows on a tree that is not good.A good tree cannot make bad fruit. A bad tree cannot make good fruit.A farmer will cut down any tree that does not make good fruit. He will burn it on a fire.God will think about you in the same way that you think about other people. He will use the same rules for you as you use for other people.
Yes, my Lord, you are very kind, and you are ready to forgive people. When anyone calls to you for help, you love them with your faithful love.
If someone does something bad against you, do not do anything bad against them in return. Never do that. Instead, always try to do good things that will help each other and help everyone else.
This is how we know what true love is: Jesus Christ gave his own life on the cross. He died on our behalf. So we too ought to give our lives for other believers.
If you love other people, you will never do anything bad to them. So anyone who loves other people has obeyed God's Law completely.
If you live in a way that pleases the Lord, even your enemies will become your friends.
Now we know this: God has forgiven those people who are united with Christ Jesus. God will never say that they are guilty.
This is the rule that I give to you: You must love each other, in the same way that I have loved you.
If you answer people in a kind way, it stops them being angry. But if you say cruel things, it makes people angry.
People insulted Christ, but he did not say any bad thing to answer them. People caused him to have trouble, but he never tried to hurt them in return. Instead, Christ trusted God to help him. He knew that God always judges people fairly.
We are not fighting against human enemies. Instead, we are fighting against the rulers and the powerful spirits that have authority over this dark world. We are fighting against the evil spirits who live in the heavens.
All this is what God does for us. Because of what Christ has done, God has brought us back to himself, as his friends. Now he wants us to bring other people to be his friends too. That is the job that he has given to us.God's message is this: By Christ's death, God was bringing people of the world back to himself, as his friends. He would no longer keep their sins in his thoughts. This is the message that God wants us to tell people.
But God is very good and kind! He loved us very much.Because of our sins, we were dead in our spirits. But God gave us a new life, because we are united with Christ. Yes, God has saved you because he is so kind.
Then he says this: ‘I will not continue to think about their sins. I will forgive them when they do not obey my laws.’
Then Jesus finished the story and he said, ‘You must forgive other believers completely. If you do not agree to forgive them, then my Father in heaven will do like that king did. He will punish you very much.’
As the Lord's servant, you must not quarrel. Instead, you must be kind to everyone. You must be able to teach them well. And you must be patient when people cause you to have trouble.When people speak against God's true message, teach them carefully. Help them to understand what is right. Maybe God will change how they think so that they believe the true message.
Do not judge anyone, to say that they are a bad person. Then God will not judge you in the same way. Do not say to anyone, “You are guilty.” Then God will not say that you are guilty. Forgive other people and God will forgive you.
While we were still God's enemies, God's Son died on our behalf. As a result, we became God's friends. So, now that we are God's friends, his Son will certainly save us. Christ will save us because he is alive again.
The Pharisees and the teachers of God's Law continued to ask Jesus questions. So he stood up and he said to them, ‘Any person among you who is not guilty of any sin may throw the first stone to kill her.’
Stop doing evil things. Instead, do things that are good. Try to be friends with people. Help people to live in peace with each other.
When a fool becomes angry, everybody knows it! But a careful person keeps quiet when someone insults him.
Do not think that you are better than other people. Always be kind and patient with each other. Love one another, so that you do not quickly become angry with each other.
In the way that you live, do not just try to help yourself. Do not be proud. Instead, respect other people. Think about other people as more important than yourself.
We work hard, so that we become very tired. When people insult us, we ask God to bless them. When people give us trouble, we are patient and brave.
The second command is also important, like the first one. You should love other people as much as you love yourself.
So, if you eat only vegetables, do not judge other believers. And if you eat anything, do not think that you are better than other believers. Remember that all of us will have to stand in front of God. He will decide whether we have done what is right or wrong.
I will be kind to them. I will forgive them for the wicked things that they have done. I will not continue to think about their sins. That is what the Lord says.’
My friends, if you see that someone among you is doing something wrong, you must warn them. Those of you who have God's Spirit should warn that person. Show them how to live in a good way. But you must be kind and patient with them. Be very careful yourselves, so that it does not cause you to do wrong things too.
Go and study what it says in the Bible. God says there, “I want people to be kind to each other. I do not want them only to offer sacrifices to me.” Some people think that they always obey God. I did not come to help people like that. But some people know that they have done wrong things. I am asking those people to come to me for help.’
A faithful person helps himself with good things. But a cruel person brings trouble on himself.
Instead, we will love each other and we will speak God's true message. As a result, we will become more and more like Christ in every way. He is the head of his body, which is the church.
But now you must refuse to do all kinds of things like that. Do not become angry with people or shout at them. Do not do anything or say anything that will hurt other people. Do not speak any bad or disgusting words.
People are also like that. A good man keeps good things in his mind. In his life, he brings those good things out from there. But a bad man keeps bad things in his mind. He brings those bad thoughts out from there. When a person speaks, his words show what is really in his mind.’
If you are kind and faithful, you will live a long life! Other people will respect you and they will be kind to you.
The Lord is not being slow to do what he has promised to do. Some people may think that he is being slow to do it. But he is being patient with you. He does not want to destroy anyone. He wants all people to turn away from the wrong things that they do.
So we should try to live in a way that brings peace. We should help each other to become stronger as God's people.
Understand this, my Christian friends: We must all be careful to listen. We should not be too quick to speak. We should not get angry quickly.My Christian friends, remember to be happy, even when many kinds of trouble happen to you. Troubles can help you.God wants us to do what is right. But when someone is angry, they do not do those right things.
A person really loves his friends if he dies so that they can live. Nobody could love anyone more than that.
When Christ died as a sacrifice on the cross, he paid the price to make us free. Because of Christ's death on our behalf, God has forgiven our sins. God is so very kind that he has done all this for us!
When God chose you to be his servants, he wanted you to be brave like that. Christ suffered on your behalf. He has shown you how you should live when trouble comes.The Bible says this: ‘He never did anything that was wrong. He never said anything that was not true.’ People insulted Christ, but he did not say any bad thing to answer them. People caused him to have trouble, but he never tried to hurt them in return. Instead, Christ trusted God to help him. He knew that God always judges people fairly.
So I say this to each one of you: Do not judge other people. If you decide that someone else has done a bad thing, remember that you also do the same bad things. So when you judge someone else you are saying that you are also guilty of the same thing. You deserve the same punishment!
Jesus then said to his disciples, ‘Listen! I am sending you to people who will want to kill you. You will be like sheep among wild animals. You must watch carefully, as snakes do. But you must also be good and kind like doves.
We pray that the Lord will cause you to love people more and more. We love you very much. We pray that you will love each other and all people, as we love you.Then God will cause you to become strong inside yourselves. You will live in a completely good way. One day our Lord Jesus will come back with all the people who belong to him. Then you will stand in front of God, our Father. He will say that you are not guilty of anything that is wrong.
So then, this is what I want to ask you first. Please pray for all people. Ask God to supply what they need. Ask God to help them. Thank God for what he does for everyone.Christian women should not dress themselves like that. Instead, their lives should show that they do good things. They say that they want to please God, so that is the proper way for them to live.When you meet together, a woman should learn quietly. She must respect the leaders who teach in the church.I do not let a woman teach men. I do not let a woman have authority over men. Instead, she should listen quietly.I say this because God made Adam first. Then he made Eve.It was Eve, not Adam, who believed the lies that Satan told her. Because she believed Satan completely, she did what God had said was wrong. But even as women give birth to children, God will save them. They must continue to trust God and to love other people. They must live in a way that shows they belong to God. They must think carefully about how they live. Then God will save them.Pray in that way for kings and for all rulers and people who have authority. Pray for God to help them, so that we may live our lives without trouble or danger. Then we can live in a good way that respects God and other people.
The Bible says this: ‘Do you want to enjoy your life? Do you want to be happy? Then you must be careful not to say evil things. Do not tell any lies.Stop doing evil things. Instead, do things that are good. Try to be friends with people. Help people to live in peace with each other.
When you forgive anyone, I also forgive that person. Whatever bad thing somebody has done, I have Christ's authority to forgive them. And I do it to help you.We do not want Satan to win against us. He is very clever. We know how he likes to cause us to have trouble.
I tell you this. When one person turns back to God, it causes a lot of joy in heaven. There is more joy about that one person, than about 99 people who already obey God.’
The king will answer them, “I tell you this. You did all these things to help other people. They were not important people, but they were my friends. When you helped them, then you also helped me.”
Some of us trust God with strong faith. We must help those believers whose faith is weaker. We must be patient with them. We should not only do things that will please ourselves.It says also in the Bible: ‘Be very happy, you Gentiles! Praise God together with his people.’ It also says this: ‘Praise the Lord God, all you Gentiles. All people, from every country, should say how great he is.’ God's prophet Isaiah says this: ‘The root of Jesse will arrive. He will come to rule the Gentiles. The Gentiles will trust him to save them.’ God is the one who causes us to hope for good things. I pray that God will bless you very much. I pray that he will cause you to be happy and to have peace in your minds. He will do this because you believe in him. As a result, God's Holy Spirit will make you strong with his power, so that you hope even more certainly.My Christian friends, I myself am completely sure about you. I know that you are good in every way. You know everything about God's message. You are able to teach one another what is right.But I still needed to write this letter to you. I have written to you strongly about some things, so that you would remember them. God has kindly chosen me to serve him in this way.I am a servant of Christ Jesus among the Gentiles, to tell them God's good news. Like a priest, I offer the Gentiles to God, so that he will accept them. The Holy Spirit has made them a pure offering that pleases God.So I am proud about the way that I serve God, because I belong to Christ Jesus.But I will only speak about the work that Christ has let me do. He has used the message that I have spoken and the things that I have done. As a result, the Gentiles have obeyed God.They have seen miracles and great things as God's Holy Spirit worked powerfully among them. In this way, I have told the good news about Christ to many people. I have done this all the way from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum. Instead, each of us should do things that will please other believers. We should help them to trust God more strongly.
Now my friends, I want to say this to you. Fill your minds with thoughts about good things. Think about things that are true, clean, right and lovely. Always think about things which people know are very good.
Love other people in a true way, not like a hypocrite. Hate anything that is bad. Continue to do things that are good.
The man replied, ‘It says that we must love the Lord our God with all our mind and with all our strength. We must love him with all that we are and in all that we think. It also says that we must love other people as much as we love ourselves.’
I am your Teacher and your Lord, but I have washed your feet. So you also should wash each other's feet.I have given you an example. You should do the same for others as I have done for you.
You must be sure that your light shines well. Then you will give light to other people. They will see all the good things that you do. Then they will praise God, who is your Father in heaven.’
I want to say the same thing to you who are young men. You must respect the authority of the leaders. All of you who are believers must respect one another. Do not think that you are more important than other people. The Bible says: ‘God is against proud people. But he is kind to humble people.’ Remember that God is strong and powerful. So be humble in front of him. Then he will lift you up to a good place at the right time.
Continue to love each other like brothers and sisters.Jesus Christ is the sacrifice that saves us. Jewish priests do not have the authority to receive anything from his sacrifice.In the old covenant, the leader of the priests brings the blood from the animal sacrifices into the Most Holy Place. He does that so that God will forgive the sins of the people. But they take the bodies of those animals away from there. They burn them outside the town.In the same way, Jesus also died outside the city. He died as a sacrifice on our behalf. His blood has made his people clean from their sins.Jesus died like that in a place where people insulted him. So we must go out to that place too. We must be ready for people to insult us, as they insulted him.Here on earth, we who are believers do not have a city that will always be our home. But we are waiting for God's city that will come.So we should always praise God, because of what Jesus has done for us. We should say clearly that we trust Jesus. That is like our sacrifice which we offer to God all the time.Remember to be kind to other people. Share with them the things that you have. God is happy with sacrifices like that.Respect your leaders and obey them. They watch over your lives on God's behalf. God will check to see if they have done their work well. So respect them, and then they will be happy as they serve God. Do not say bad things against them, because that will never help you.Pray to God for us. We are sure in our minds that we have done nothing wrong. We always want to do only what is right.The most important thing is this: Pray that I may come back to you soon.Always remember to be kind to strangers. Let them stay in your homes. In this way, some people have received angels as visitors, and they did not know that they were angels.
One rule brings together all the rules in God's Law. That one rule says, ‘Love other people as much as you love yourself.’
My friends, we should all love each other. It is God who makes us able to love other people. Everyone who loves other people has become a child of God. That person knows God.
Now I say ‘goodbye’ to you, my Christian friends. Do only what is right. Let my message make you strong. Agree with each other. Live together in peace. I pray that God will be with you. He is the one who loves us and gives us peace in our minds.
Christ will always continue to love us. Nothing can stop that! We may have trouble. Things may make us sad or afraid. Cruel people may do bad things to us. We may have no food or no clothes. There may be great danger. People may even try to kill us. But none of these things can stop Christ's love for us.As it says in the Bible: ‘Because we are your people, God, people try to kill us all the time. They think that we are like sheep, and we are ready to be killed.’ Because God loves us, none of these troubles can ever beat us. He makes us win against them.
Do not say, ‘I will pay you back for the evil thing you did to me.’ Trust the Lord to make it right for you.
I am writing this letter to you, my friends who are like my little children. I am writing to you because I do not want you to do wrong things. But if anyone among you does something wrong, there is someone who will speak to God on our behalf. That person is Jesus Christ, who always does only what is right. He will ask our Father God to forgive you.
Happy are the people who want to obey God, as much as they need to eat food. God will give them everything that they need.
Remember this: your body is the home of God's Holy Spirit. God gave his Holy Spirit to you and he lives in you. You do not belong to yourselves any longer.It is God's people who will judge all the people in the world one day. You surely know that. So you should be able to decide about small quarrels between yourselves.God bought you for himself. He paid the price for you. So use your body to give honour to God.
My Christian friends, I do not think that I have reached that place yet. But this is what I do. I do not think about past things that have already happened. Instead, I try hard to reach the things that are still in front.I am like a runner who wants to reach the end of the race. I run straight towards that place, so that I can win God's gift. Because I belong to Christ Jesus, God has called me to live with him in heaven. That is God's gift to me at the end of my life.
We know that God helps those people who love him. He uses everything that happens to them to bring something good. He does this for the people that he has chosen to serve him.
Christ died on the cross on my behalf. It is as if I died there with him. So I do not live my own life any more. Instead, Christ lives in me. That is the life that I now live in my body. I live because I trust what Christ, the Son of God, has done for me. He loved me so much that he died on my behalf.
God will not forgive anyone who has not forgiven other people. But God is kind! He judges us, but even more than that, he forgives us!
‘Father, if you want, you can save me from this time of great pain. But I do not ask you to do what I want. Do what you want to do.’
So we have learned about many people who trusted God. They are like a very big crowd all around us to show us what is right. We must be like people who run in a race. We must throw away everything that stops us from running well. The sins that we do make us fall down very easily. We must not let those sins rule us. We must continue to be strong as we run the race that God has prepared for us.Our human fathers punished us for a few years. They did this in a way that they thought was good. But God punishes us in a way that will really help us. As a result, we can become completely good, like he is.Punishment never makes us happy at the time when we receive it. No, the pain makes us sad. But later we know that the punishment has taught us good things. It helps us to live in a right way that gives us peace in our minds.So be strong as you serve God! If your hands feel weak, lift them up! If your knees are not strong, stand up straight!Walk straight in front of you, step by step! Your example will help other Christians to serve God well. People who cannot walk well will not fall down. Instead, their legs will become strong again. Do everything that you can to live in peace with all people. Be faithful to the Lord. Nobody will see the Lord unless they are holy.Remember that God is very kind. Nobody should refuse to let God help them. Make sure that nobody among you causes trouble so that people turn against God. A person who is angry against God is like poison. He spoils many other people's lives so that God does not accept them.Make sure that nobody among you has sex in a wrong way. Be careful that nobody is careless about God's rules, like Esau was long ago. He gave away everything that he would have received as his father's firstborn son. He gave it all away so that he could get only one meal.As you know, after that, he still wanted to receive those good things from his father. He wanted his father to bless him. But his father refused to do that. Esau cried very much when he asked his father to bless him. But Esau could not change what he had done. You have come near to God. But you have not come to a place that you can touch, like Mount Sinai. That mountain burned with fire. But where the people stood, it was completely dark. They could not see at all. There was also a very strong wind and a storm.There was the loud sound of a trumpet. There was a powerful voice that spoke to them. When the people heard that voice, they were very afraid. So they asked that the voice would not speak to them any more.As we run, we must always look towards Jesus. He is the one who trusted God completely. Our faith starts with him, and he will help us to trust God all the way to the end. Jesus accepted punishment on the cross. He chose to receive much pain. He did not think about being ashamed to die like that. He knew that God had prepared something very good for him that would make him happy. Now he has sat down at the right side of God to rule with him in heaven.
Do not let anyone deceive you. Remember this: ‘If you become a friend of bad people, you also will live in a bad way.’
Someone might say, ‘Perhaps we should continue to do wrong things. Then God can be kind to us in more and more ways.’When Christ died, he died once to destroy the power of sin for ever. Now that he is alive again, he lives to serve God.So you also should think about yourselves in the same way. Sin has no power over you, as if you were dead. In your new life, you live to serve God, because you belong to Christ Jesus.So do not let sin rule your life in this world. Do not do the wrong things that your body wants to do.Sin can use your body to do wicked things. So do not let any parts of your body serve sin as their master. Instead, be ready to serve God as your master. You can do that because you now have a new life. Your old life is dead. So give every part of your body to God. Then he will use you to do right things.Sin will no longer have authority over you. The Law which God gave to Moses does not control your life. God's grace now controls your life. Someone might say, ‘So we have a new life because God is kind to us. God's Law that he gave to Moses does not rule us any more. Then maybe we should continue to do wrong things. It will not make any difference.’ No, that is not true!Remember this: when you agree to serve someone as a slave, you have to obey that person as your master. You may choose to serve sin as your master. If you do that, you will die. Or you may choose to obey God. If you do that, you will live in a way that is right.At one time, you were slaves to sin. But then you received God's true message, and you were happy to obey it. I thank God because of that!As a result, God has made you free from the power of sin. You are now like slaves who serve everything that is right and good.It is difficult for you to understand these things, because you are still weak. So I am using a human picture of slaves to help you to understand better. At one time, you agreed to serve bad things as your master. You let your body do wrong and disgusting things. You continued to do more and more bad things. So now, you must use your body to serve what is right and good. Then you will live in a good way that pleases God.No! Certainly we should not do that! Sin does not rule our lives any longer. That old life is dead! So it is not right that we should continue to do wrong things.
I know that God has begun to do good things in you. And I am sure that he will continue to work in you. Then, on the day when Jesus Christ returns, his work in you will be finished.
I pray that God will cause you to be strong in your spirits. God has great and valuable things in heaven to help you. I pray that God's Spirit will help you with God's own power.I pray that Christ will make his home in you, as you believe in him. Then you will know God's love very well. You will be like trees that have roots which go down deep into God's love. That will make you strong.
Then Jesus asked the teacher of God's Law a question. He said, ‘Three men saw the man that robbers had attacked. Which of them showed love to him, like a real friend?’The teacher answered, ‘It was the man who was kind to him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Yes. So you should go and be kind like that to other people.’
Christ never did any wrong thing, but God punished him as if he had. He died as punishment for our sins. As a result, we become right with God when we belong to Christ. We become right, because he is right.
Jesus said, ‘You are like salt for all people. Salt is good. But if it is not salty any more, you cannot make it salty again. People can no longer use it for anything. They just throw it away and they walk on it. You are like a light for everybody in this world. If people build a city on a hill, then other people can see it easily.
The Word is full of everything that we need. We have all received one good thing after another good thing.
I have worked to serve Christ well. I have finished everything that God wanted me to do. I am like a runner who has run to the end of the race. I have continued to believe God's true message.So now a gift is waiting for me. The Lord will make me completely right with him. That will be like a crown which the Lord will give me on that great day when he judges people. He is the judge who is fair and right. He will not only give that gift to me. He will give it to all those people who love him. They will be happy to see him when he comes again.
Also, we can trust God to help us when we turn to him. We know that he will hear us. When we ask for anything that he wants us to have, he listens to us.Since we know that, we also know that God will give us the things that we ask for. It is as if we have already received those things from him.
The Lord takes care of me, like a shepherd with his sheep. I have everything that I need.He takes me to green fields where I can rest. He leads me to streams of water where I can drink.He gives me new strength in my life. He is my guide to the right paths. He does this to give honour to his name.
You have obeyed God's true message. As a result, you have become clean inside, and now you can really love other believers. So continue to love each other very well, with honest thoughts.
Do your best to let God's Spirit keep you united. You belong together so live in peace with each other.
Instead, always think about the things that are important in the kingdom of heaven. Always do what God shows you is right. Then he will also give you the things that you need each day.
It is God himself who is working in you. Now you want to obey him, and he makes you able to do that. You do the things that make God very happy.
Instead, always remember that Christ is your Lord. Let him rule how you live. People may ask you, ‘Why do you trust God to help you?’ You must always be ready to answer them about that.
Some men came to see Jesus there. They carried with them a man who could not move his legs. He was lying on a mat. Jesus knew that they believed in him. He said to the man who could not walk, ‘Do not be afraid, my friend. I forgive you for the wrong things that you have done.’
Then you will be able to live in a way that the Lord wants you to live. Everything that you do will please him. We pray that all these good things will have good results. We pray that you will know God better and better.
‘Happy are the people who know that they need God very much. The kingdom of heaven belongs to people like that.
So, people must hear the message before they can trust God. And people hear that message when someone tells them about Christ.
Nobody who has become a child of God continues to do wrong things. Instead, the Son of God keeps him safe. Satan cannot do anything against a child of God.
Once your minds were completely in the dark. But now you belong to the Lord. As a result, you have become full of light. So now you must live as people who belong to the light.The light helps you to live in a way that is good, right and true.
We are happy even when we suffer. That is because we know that this helps us to become patient and strong.And when we remain strong, we show that we trust God. When we trust God like that, it causes us to hope for God's help.
But maybe you need to know how to be wise. Then ask God to help you. He is ready to give everyone what they need. And he never says that it is wrong to ask. So God will help you to be wise.
My Lord God in heaven has plenty of good and valuable things. Because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will give to you everything that you need.
I will go away but I will give you a gift of peace. It is mine to give and yours to keep. It is not like a gift that this world gives. Do not let yourselves be sad. Do not be afraid.
When people are upset, the Lord is near to them. He saves those who feel very weak and upset.
Lord, you keep those people safe who continue to trust in you. You give them peace in their minds, because they believe in you.
Trust in the Lord completely. Do not think that you understand things well enough for yourself.Whatever you are doing, remember that the Lord is with you. Then he will show you the right way to go.
All people have done wrong things. Nobody is as good as God in his glory wants them to be.
My Christian friends, I tell you this with the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ: ‘Please agree with each other. Do not become separate groups. Be united and think about things in the same way.’