Now, to the one with enough power to prevent you from stumbling into sin and bring you faultless before his glorious presence to stand before him with ecstatic delight,
I refuse to be ashamed of the wonderful message of God’s liberating power unleashed in us through Christ! For I am thrilled to preach that everyone who believes is saved—the Jew first, and then people everywhere!
And you are heirs of their prophecies and of the covenants God made with your fathers when he promised Abraham, ‘Your descendant will bring blessing to all the people on the earth.’
Celebrate with praises the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has shown us his extravagant mercy. For his fountain of mercy has given us a new life—we are reborn to experience a living, energetic hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus—all because he sees us wrapped into Christ. This is why we celebrate him with all our hearts!
For it was in Damascus that I first declared the truth. And then I went to Jerusalem and throughout our nation, and even to other nations, telling people everywhere that they must repent and turn to God and demonstrate it with a changed life.
But I promise you this—the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and you will be seized with power. You will be my messengers to Jerusalem, throughout Judea, the distant provinces —even to the remotest places on earth!”
Never retaliate when someone treats you wrongly, nor insult those who insult you, but instead, respond by speaking a blessing over them—because a blessing is what God promised to give you.
so that his name may be honored forever! May the fame of his name spring forth! May it shine on, like the sunshine! In him all will be blessed to bless others, and may all the people bless the One who blessed them.
“I have heard it! The people of Israel moaning, ‘You disciplined us like young, untamed bulls, but you broke us, and we’ve learned to obey. Bring us back, Yahweh; let us come home, for you are our God.
The God of our ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has done this. For he has glorified his Servant Jesus, the one you denied to Pilate’s face when he decided to release him—and you insisted that he be crucified.
I am convinced that Jesus, the Messiah, was sent as a servant to the Jewish people to fulfill the promises God made to our ancestors and to prove God’s faithfulness.