He said, ‘Tell Joseph that I beg him to please forgive his brothers for the bad things they did to him.’ So now Joseph, we beg you, please forgive us for the bad things we did to you. We are the servants of God, the God of your father.
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you seen my servant Job? There is no person on earth like Job. Job is a good and faithful man. He worships God and refuses to do evil things.”
“People will make weapons to fight against you, but those weapons will not defeat you. Some people will say things against you. But every person that speaks against you will be shown to be wrong.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar went to the opening of the hot furnace. He shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, come out! Servants of the Most High God, come here!”
The king was very worried. When the king went to the lions’ den, he called to Daniel. The king said, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God been able to save you from the lions? You always serve your God.”
Who can count Jacob’s people?
They are as many as the grains of dust.
No one can count even a fourth of
the people of Israel.
Let me die like a good man.
Let my life end as happy as theirs!
And every person that has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or farms to follow me will get much more than he left. And that person will have life forever.
You did not choose me; I chose you. And I gave you this work: to go and make fruit. I want this fruit to continue \{in your life\}. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name.
He cuts off every branch {\cf2\super [217]} of mine that does not make fruit. {\cf2\super [218]} And he trims and cleans every branch that makes fruit, so that it will make even more fruit.
Even now, the person that harvests the crop is being paid. He is gathering crops for eternal life. So now the person that plants can be happy together with the person that harvests.
In the same way, my brothers and sisters, your old selves died and you became free from the law {\cf2\super [52]} through the body of Christ. Now you belong to someone else. You belong to the One (Christ) that was raised from death. We belong to Christ so that we can be used in service to God.
Why? Because in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit {\cf2\super [58]} that brings life made you {\cf2\super [59]} free. It made you {\cf2\super [60]} free from the law that brings sin and death.
The person who was a slave when the Lord called him is free in the Lord. That person belongs to the Lord. In the same way, the person who was free when he was called is now Christ’s slave.
Now do you think I am trying to make people accept me? No! God is the One I am trying to please. Am I trying to please people? If I wanted to please people, I would not be a servant of Jesus Christ.
My brothers and sisters, God called you to be free. But don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do the things that please your sinful selves. But serve each other with love.
that you will use these things to live in a way that brings honor to the Lord and pleases him in every way;\par that you will do all kinds of good things and grow in the knowledge of God;\par
Epaphras also says hello. He is a servant of Jesus Christ. And he is from your group. He always prays for you. He prays that you will grow to be spiritually mature (perfect) and have everything that God wants for you.
Greetings from Paul, a servant of God and an apostle {\cf2\super [1]} of Jesus Christ. I was sent to help the faith of God’s chosen people. I was sent to help those people to know the truth. And that truth shows people how to serve God.
Try to live in peace with all people. And try to live lives free from sin. If a person’s life is not holy, {\cf2\super [160]} then he will never see the Lord.