He was the Angel who saved me
from all my troubles.
And I pray that he will bless these boys.
Now these boys will have my name
and the name of our ancestors,
Abraham and Isaac.
I pray that they will grow to become
great families and nations on earth.”
Jabez prayed to the God of Israel. Jabez said, “I wish you would truly bless me. I wish you would give me more land. Be near me and don’t let anyone hurt me. Then I won’t have any pain.” And God gave Jabez what he asked for.
The Lord loves fairness.\par He will not leave his followers\par without help.\par The Lord will always protect his followers,\par but he will destroy wicked people.\par
But you will make me strong.\par I will be like a ram with strong horns.\par \{You chose me for my special work;\}\par you poured your refreshing oil over me.\par
“Then the king will say to those good people on his right, ‘Come. My Father has given you great blessings. Come and get the kingdom God promised you. That kingdom has been prepared for you since the world was made.
This is what God with his wisdom wanted: The world did not know God through the world’s own wisdom. So God used the message {\cf2\super [8]} that sounds foolish to save the people that believe it.
The only temptations that you have are the same temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to endure it.
I tell you this, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood (a physical body) cannot have a part in the kingdom of God. A thing that will ruin cannot have a part in something that never ruins.
We pray that God himself, the God of peace, will make you pure—belonging only to him. We pray that your whole self—spirit, soul, and body—will be kept safe and be without wrong when our Lord Jesus Christ comes.
God is the only One who never dies. God lives in light so bright that men cannot go near it. No person has ever seen God. No person is able to see God. Honor to God and power forever. Amen.
And I suffer now because I tell that Good News. But I am not ashamed. I know the One (Jesus) that I have believed. I am sure that he is able to protect the things that he has trusted me with until that Day. {\cf2\super [8]}
Before God and Jesus Christ I give you a command. Christ Jesus is the One who will judge the people who are living and the people who have died. Jesus has a kingdom, and he is coming again. So I give you this command:
But those men were waiting for a better country—a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God. And God has prepared a city for those men.
But you have not come to that kind of place. The new place you have come to is Mount Zion. {\cf2\super [165]} You have come to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. {\cf2\super [166]} You have come to an excited gathering of thousands of angels.
Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! God chose the poor people in the world to be rich with faith. He chose them to receive the kingdom God promised to people who love him.
God’s power protects you through your faith, and it keeps you safe until your salvation comes. That salvation is ready to be given to you at the end of time.
David heard that Nabal was dead. David said, “Praise the Lord! Nabal said bad things about me, but the Lord supported me. The Lord kept me from doing wrong. And the Lord caused Nabal to die because he did wrong.”