So I prayed, “Lord All-Powerful, you are a fair judge. You know how to test people’s hearts and minds. I will tell you my arguments, and I will let you give them the punishment they deserve.”
But I am the Lord, and I can look into a person’s heart. I can test a person’s mind and decide what each one should have. I can give each person the right payment for what they do.
Lord All-Powerful, you test good people. You look deeply into a person’s mind. I told you my arguments against these people. So let me see you give them the punishment they deserve.
“And you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father. Serve God with a pure heart. Be happy to serve him, because the Lord knows what is in everyone’s heart. He knows what you are thinking. If you go to him for help, you will get an answer. But if you turn away from him, he will leave you forever.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Eliab is tall and handsome, but don’t judge by things like that. God doesn’t look at what people see. People judge by what is on the outside, but the Lord looks at the heart. Eliab is not the right man.”
I will also kill her followers. Then all the churches will see that I am the one who knows what people feel and think. And I will repay each of you for what you have done.
Praise God! He is the one who can make you strong in faith. He can use the Good News that I teach to make you strong. It is the message about Jesus Christ that I tell people. That message is the secret truth that was hidden for ages and ages but has been made known.
He will set up his king’s tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. But finally, that bad king will die. There will be no one to help him when his end comes.
He protects his holy people. He keeps them from stumbling. But evil people will be destroyed. They will fall in the darkness. Their power won’t help them win.
Greetings from Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. To those who have been chosen and are loved by God the Father and have been kept safe in Jesus Christ.
Yes, you will suffer for a short time. But after that, God will make everything right. He will make you strong. He will support you and keep you from falling. He is the God who gives all grace. He chose you to share in his glory in Christ. That glory will continue forever.
This will strengthen your desire to do what is right, and you will be holy and without fault before our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy people.
Please listen from heaven and judge them. If they are guilty, please show us that they are guilty. And if they are innocent, please show us that they are not guilty.