Get Wisdom and Understanding (Proverbs 4:5-9 & 20-23) Living Bible & Good News Translations

LIVING BIBLE TRANSLATION
PROVERBS 4:5-9
5    Learn to be wise,” he said, “and develop good judgment and common sense! I cannot overemphasize this point.” 
6    Cling to wisdom—she will protect you. Love her—she will guard you.
7    Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do! And with your wisdom, develop common sense and good judgment. 
8-9  If you exalt wisdom, she will exalt you. Hold her fast, and she will lead you to great honor; she will place a beautiful crown upon your head.
PROVERBS 4:20-23 
20   Listen, son of mine, to what I say. Listen carefully. 
21   Keep these thoughts ever in mind; let them penetrate deep within your heart, 
22   for they will mean real life for you and radiant health.
23  Above all else, guard your affections. For they influence everything else in your life. 

GOOD NEWS TRANSLATION
PROVERBS 4:5-9
5   Get wisdom and insight! Do not forget or ignore what I say. 
6   Do not abandon wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will keep you safe. 
7   Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do. Whatever else you get, get insight. 
8   Love wisdom, and she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will bring you honor. 
9   She will be your crowning glory.”
PROVERBS 4:20-23
20  My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen to my words. 
21  Never let them get away from you. Remember them and keep them in your heart. 
22  They will give life and health to anyone who understands them. 
23  Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.

Peace With God Because Of Jesus (Romans 5:1-5) God's Word & The Message Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION
1  Now that we have God’s approval by faith, we have peace with God because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done. 
2  Through Christ we can approach God and stand in his favor. So we brag because of our confidence that we will receive glory from God. 
3  But that’s not all. We also brag when we are suffering. We know that suffering creates endurance,
4  endurance creates character, and character creates confidence. 
5  We’re not ashamed to have this confidence, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION

1-2  By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

3-5  There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

If We Died With Christ (Romans 6:8-13) God's Word and Living Bible Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION
8   If we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 
9   We know that Christ, who was brought back to life, will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 
10  When he died, he died once and for all to sin’s power. But now he lives, and he lives for God. 
11  So consider yourselves dead to sin’s power but living for God in the power Christ Jesus gives you.
12  Therefore, never let sin rule your physical body so that you obey its desires. 
13  Never offer any part of your body to sin’s power. No part of your body should ever be used to do any ungodly thing. Instead, offer yourselves to God as people who have come back from death and are now alive. Offer all the parts of your body to God. Use them to do everything that God approves of.

LIVING BIBLE TRANSLATION 
8   And since your old sin-loving nature “died” with Christ, we know that you will share his new life. 
9   Christ rose from the dead and will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 
10  He died once for all to end sin’s power, but now he lives forever in unbroken fellowship with God. 
11  So look upon your old sin nature as dead and unresponsive to sin, and instead be alive to God, alert to him, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12  Do not let sin control your puny body any longer; do not give in to its sinful desires. ¹³ Do not let any part of your bodies become tools of wickedness, to be used for sinning; but give yourselves completely to God—every part of you—for you are back from death and you want to be tools in the hands of God, to be used for his good purposes. 

Dead To Sin, Alive In Christ (Romans 6:1-7) Living Bible and Amplified Translations

ROMANS 6:1-7    LIVING BIBLE TRANSLATION 

1    Well then, shall we keep on sinning so that God can keep on showing us more and more kindness and forgiveness?

2-3  Of course not! Should we keep on sinning when we don’t have to? For sin’s power over us was broken when we became Christians and were baptized to become a part of Jesus Christ; through his death the power of your sinful nature was shattered. 
4    Your old sin-loving nature was buried with him by baptism when he died; and when God the Father, with glorious power, brought him back to life again, you were given his wonderful new life to enjoy.
5    For you have become a part of him, and so you died with him, so to speak, when he died; and now you share his new life and shall rise as he did. 
6    Your old evil desires were nailed to the cross with him; that part of you that loves to sin was crushed and fatally wounded, so that your sin-loving body is no longer under sin’s control, no longer needs to be a slave to sin; 
7    for when you are deadened to sin you are freed from all its allure and its power over you. 

ROMANS 6:1-7   AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION

1   What shall we say [to all this]? Are we to remain in sin in order that God’s grace (favor and mercy) may multiply and overflow?

2   Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?

3   Are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

4   We were buried therefore with Him by the baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious [power] of the Father, so we too might [habitually] live and behave in newness of life.

5   For if we have become one with Him by sharing a death like His, we shall also be [one with Him in sharing] His resurrection [by a new life lived for God].

6   We know that our old (unrenewed) self was nailed to the cross with Him in order that [our] body [which is the instrument] of sin might be made ineffective and inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin.

7   For when a man dies, he is freed (loosed, delivered) from [the power of] sin [among men].

You Are Called To Persevere (Jude 20-25) God's Word & Living Bible Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION

20  Dear friends, use your most holy faith to grow. Pray with the Holy Spirit’s help. 

21  Remain in God’s love as you look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you eternal life.

22  Show mercy to those who have doubts. 

23  Save others by snatching them from the fire of hell. Show mercy to others, even though you are afraid that you might be stained by their sinful lives.

24  God can guard you so that you don’t fall and so that you can be full of joy as you stand in his glorious presence without fault. 

25  Before time began, now, and for eternity glory, majesty, power, and authority belong to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen

LIVING BIBLE TRANSLATION

20   But you, dear friends, must build up your lives ever more strongly upon the foundation of our holy faith, learning to pray in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.
21   Stay always within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and bless you. Wait patiently for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy is going to give you. 
22   Try to help those who argue against you. Be merciful to those who doubt. 
23   Save some by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself. And as for others, help them to find the Lord by being kind to them, but be careful that you yourselves aren’t pulled along into their sins. Hate every trace of their sin while being merciful to them as sinners.
24-25  And now—all glory to him who alone is God, who saves us through Jesus Christ our Lord; yes, splendor and majesty, all power and authority are his from the beginning; his they are and his they evermore shall be. And he is able to keep you from slipping and falling away, and to bring you, sinless and perfect, into his glorious presence with mighty shouts of everlasting joy.
Amen.

Sink Your Roots In Christ (Colossians 2:6-10) God's Word & The Message Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION
6   You received Christ Jesus the Lord, so continue to live as Christ’s people. 
7   Sink your roots in him and build on him. Be strengthened by the faith that you were taught, and overflow with thanksgiving. 
8   Be careful not to let anyone rob you of this faith through a shallow and misleading philosophy. Such a person follows human traditions and the world’s way of doing things rather than following Christ.
9   All of God lives in Christ’s body, 
10  and God has made you complete in Christ. Christ is in charge of every ruler and authority. 


THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION

6-7   My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

8-10  Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that’s not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.

What God Has Done Through Christ (Colossians 1:13-23) God's Word & The Message Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION

13  God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of his Son, whom he loves. 

14  His Son paid the price to free us, which means that our sins are forgiven.

15  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

16  He created all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. Whether they are kings or lords, rulers or powers—everything has been created through him and for him.

17  He existed before everything and holds everything together.

18  He is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, the first to come back to life so that he would have first place in everything.

19  God was pleased to have all of himself live in Christ. 

20  God was also pleased to bring everything on earth and in heaven back to himself through Christ. He did this by making peace through Christ’s blood sacrificed on the cross.

21  Once you were separated from God. The evil things you did showed your hostile attitude. 

22  But now Christ has brought you back to God by dying in his physical body. He did this so that you could come into God’s presence without sin, fault, or blame. 

23  This is on the condition that you continue in faith without being moved from the solid foundation of the hope that the Good News contains. You’ve heard this Good News of which I, Paul, became a servant. It has been spread throughout all creation under heaven.

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION

13-14God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.  

15-18  We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

18-20  He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.

21-23  You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.

God Leads Us to Nothing But Good Things (Galatians 5:16-25 & James 1:13-17) God's Word

Often I hear people say, "If God brings you to it He will lead you through it."   Could this be a cliche rather than a fact?  Does God bring you to bad things or to things that will harm you?

According to Galatians 5:16-25 it says:
¹⁶ Let me explain further. Live your life as your spiritual nature directs you. Then you will never follow through on what your corrupt nature wants. ¹⁷ What your corrupt nature wants is contrary to what your spiritual nature wants, and what your spiritual nature wants is contrary to what your corrupt nature wants. They are opposed to each other. As a result, you don’t always do what you intend to do. ¹⁸ If your spiritual nature is your guide, you are not subject to Moses’ laws.
¹⁹ Now, the effects of the corrupt nature are obvious: illicit sex, perversion, promiscuity, ²⁰ idolatry, drug use, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambition, conflict, factions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild partying, and similar things. I’ve told you in the past and I’m telling you again that people who do these kinds of things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
²² But the spiritual nature produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There are no laws against things like that. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their corrupt nature along with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live by our spiritual nature, then our lives need to conform to our spiritual nature. 

and

James 1:13-17
¹³ When someone is tempted, he shouldn’t say that God is tempting him. God can’t be tempted by evil, and God doesn’t tempt anyone. ¹⁴ Everyone is tempted by his own desires as they lure him away and trap him. ¹⁵ Then desire becomes pregnant and gives birth to sin. When sin grows up, it gives birth to death.

¹⁶ My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be fooled. ¹⁷ Every good present and every perfect gift comes from above, from the Father who made the sun, moon, and stars. The Father doesn’t change like the shifting shadows produced by the sun and the moon.

God Does Not Tempt (James 1:12-18) God's Word and The Message Translations

GOD WORD'S TRANSLATION

12  Blessed are those who endure when they are tested. When they pass the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 
13  When someone is tempted, he shouldn’t say that God is tempting him. God can’t be tempted by evil, and God doesn’t tempt anyone. 
14  Everyone is tempted by his own desires as they lure him away and trap him. 
15  Then desire becomes pregnant and gives birth to sin. When sin grows up, it gives birth to death.
16  My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be fooled. 
17  Every good present and every perfect gift comes from above, from the Father who made the sun, moon, and stars. The Father doesn’t change like the shifting shadows produced by the sun and the moon.
18  God decided to give us life through the word of truth to make us his most important creatures.


THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION

12    Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.
13-15  Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.
16-18  So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.

Faith Under Pressure (James 1:2-8) God's Word and The Message Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION

2  My brothers and sisters, be very happy when you are tested in different ways. 

3  You know that such testing of your faith produces endurance. 

4  Endure until your testing is over. Then you will be mature and complete, and you won’t need anything.

5  If any of you needs wisdom to know what you should do, you should ask God, and he will give it to you. God is generous to everyone and doesn’t find fault with them. 

6  When you ask for something, don’t have any doubts. A person who has doubts is like a wave that is blown by the wind and tossed by the sea. 

7  A person who has doubts shouldn’t expect to receive anything from the Lord. 

8  A person who has doubts is thinking about two different things at the same time and can’t make up his mind about anything.

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION

2-4  Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

5-8  If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

Live Well, Live Wisely (James 3:13-18)

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION

13  Do any of you have wisdom and insight? Show this by living the right way with the humility that comes from wisdom. 

14  But if you are bitterly jealous and filled with self-centered ambition, don’t brag. Don’t say that you are wise when it isn’t true. 

15  That kind of wisdom doesn’t come from above. It belongs to this world. It is self-centered and demonic. 16   Wherever there is jealousy and rivalry, there is disorder and every kind of evil.

17  However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure. Then it is peaceful, gentle, obedient, filled with mercy and good deeds, impartial, and sincere. 

18  A harvest that has God’s approval comes from the peace planted by peacemakers.

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION

13-16  Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.

17-18  Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

Dedicate Your Lives To Jesus (I Peter 3:8-12) God's Word and The Message Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION

8    Finally, everyone must live in harmony, be sympathetic, love each other, have compassion, and be humble.

9    Don’t pay people back with evil for the evil they do to you, or ridicule those who ridicule you. Instead, bless them, because you were called to inherit a blessing.

10  “People who want to live a full life and enjoy good days must keep their tongues from saying evil things,

        and their lips from speaking deceitful things.

11  They must turn away from evil and do good.  They must seek peace and pursue it.

12  The Lord’s eyes are on those who do what he approves.  His ears hear their prayer.  The Lord confronts those who do evil.”

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION

8-12 Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.  Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, 

Here’s what you do:  Say nothing evil or hurtful; Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you’re worth.  God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what he’s asked; But he turns his back on those who do evil things.

Continue To Do Your Work (2 Timothy 4:1-5) God's Word and The Message Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION

1  I solemnly call on you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge those who are living and those who are dead. I do this because Christ Jesus will come to rule the world. 

2  Be ready to spread the word whether or not the time is right. Point out errors, warn people, and encourage them. Be very patient when you teach.

3  A time will come when people will not listen to accurate teachings. Instead, they will follow their own desires and surround themselves with teachers who tell them what they want to hear. 

4  People will refuse to listen to the truth and turn to myths.

5  But you must keep a clear head in everything. Endure suffering. Do the work of a missionary. Devote yourself completely to your work.

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION

1-2  I can’t impress this on you too strongly. God is looking over your shoulder. Christ himself is the Judge, with the final say on everyone, living and dead. He is about to break into the open with his rule, so proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch. Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don’t ever quit. Just keep it simple.

3-5  You’re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They’ll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you—keep your eye on what you’re doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God’s servant.

Those Who Hate Other Believers Are Still In The Dark (I John 2:7-11) God's Word & The Message Translations

^{GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION}
7    Dear friends, it’s not as though I’m writing to give you a new commandment. Rather, I’m giving you an old commandment that you’ve had from the beginning. It’s the old commandment you’ve already heard. 
8    On the other hand, I’m writing to give you a new commandment. It’s a truth that exists in Christ and in you: The darkness is fading, and the true light is already shining.
9    Those who say that they are in the light but hate other believers are still in the dark. 
10  Those who love other believers live in the light. Nothing will destroy the faith of those who live in the light. 
11  Those who hate other believers are in the dark and live in the dark. They don’t know where they’re going, because they can’t see in the dark.

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION
7-8    My dear friends, I’m not writing anything new here. This is the oldest commandment in the book, and you’ve known it from day one. It’s always been implicit in the Message you’ve heard. On the other hand, perhaps it is new, freshly minted as it is in both Christ and you—the darkness on its way out and the True Light already blazing!

9-11  Anyone who claims to live in God’s light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It’s the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God’s light and doesn’t block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn’t know which end is up, blinded by the darkness.

The Only Way to Know We’re in Christ (I John 2:2-6) God's Word and The Message Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION
2  He is the payment for our sins, and not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world.
3  We are sure that we know Christ if we obey his commandments. 
4  The person who says, “I know him,” but doesn’t obey his commandments is a liar. The truth isn’t in that person. 
5  But whoever obeys what Christ says is the kind of person in whom God’s love is perfected. That’s how we know we are in Christ. 
6  Those who say that they live in him must live the same way he lived.

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION

2-3  Here’s how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his commandments.

4-6  If someone claims, “I know him well!” but doesn’t keep his commandments, he’s obviously a liar. His life doesn’t match his words. But the one who keeps God’s word is the person in whom we see God’s mature love. This is the only way to be sure we’re in God. Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived.

God Is Faithful And Reliable (I John 1:5-10) God's Word and The Message Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION

5   This is the message we heard from Christ and are reporting to you: God is light, and there isn’t any darkness in him. 

6   If we say, “We have a relationship with God” and yet live in the dark, we’re lying. We aren’t being truthful.

7   But if we live in the light in the same way that God is in the light, we have a relationship with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from every sin. 

8   If we say, “We aren’t sinful” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

9   God is faithful and reliable. If we confess our sins, he forgives them and cleanses us from everything we’ve done wrong. 

10  If we say, “We have never sinned,” we turn God into a liar and his Word is not in us.

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION

5     This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him.

6-7  If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.

8-10  If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.

Guard Yourselves From False Gods (I John 5:16-21) God's Word and The Message Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION
16  If you see another believer committing a sin that doesn’t lead to death, you should pray that God would give that person life. This is true for those who commit sins that don’t lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I’m not telling you to pray about that. 
17  Every kind of wrongdoing is sin, yet there are sins that don’t lead to death.
18  We know that those who have been born from God don’t go on sinning. Rather, the Son of God protects them, and the evil one can’t harm them.
19  We know that we are from God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
20  We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we know the real God. We are in the one who is real, his Son Jesus Christ. This Jesus Christ is the real God and eternal life.
21  Dear children, guard yourselves from false gods.

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION
16-17  For instance, if we see a Christian believer sinning (clearly I’m not talking about those who make a practice of sin in a way that is “fatal,” leading to eternal death), we ask for God’s help and he gladly gives it, gives life to the sinner whose sin is not fatal. There is such a thing as a fatal sin, and I’m not urging you to pray about that. Everything we do wrong is sin, but not all sin is fatal.

18-21  We know that none of the God-begotten makes a practice of sin—fatal sin. The God-begotten are also the God-protected. The Evil One can’t lay a hand on them. We know that we are held firm by God; it’s only the people of the world who continue in the grip of the Evil One. And we know that the Son of God came so we could recognize and understand the truth of God—what a gift!—and we are living in the Truth itself, in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. This Jesus is both True God and Real Life. Dear children, be on guard against all clever facsimiles.

Whoever Has The Son, Has Life (I John 5:11-15) God's Word and The Message Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION
11  This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is found in his Son. 
12  The person who has the Son has this life. The person who doesn’t have the Son of God doesn’t have this life.  
13  I’ve written this to those who believe in the Son of God so that they will know that they have eternal life.
14  We are confident that God listens to us if we ask for anything that has his approval. 
15  We know that he listens to our requests. So we know that we already have what we ask him for.

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION
11-12  This is the testimony in essence: God gave us eternal life; the life is in his Son. So, whoever has the Son, has life; whoever rejects the Son, rejects life.
13-15  My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours.

This Son Of God Is Jesus Christ (I John 5:6-10) God's Word and The Message Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION
6  This Son of God is Jesus Christ, who came by water and blood. He didn’t come with water only, but with water and with blood. The Spirit is the one who verifies this, because the Spirit is the truth. 
7  There are three witnesses:
8   the Spirit, the water, and the blood. These three witnesses agree.
9   We accept human testimony. God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony that he has given about his Son. 
10  Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony of God in them. Those who don’t believe God have made God a liar. They haven’t believed the testimony that God has given about his Son.

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION
6-8   Jesus—the Divine Christ! He experienced a life-giving birth and a death-killing death. Not only birth from the womb, but baptismal birth of his ministry and sacrificial death. And all the while the Spirit is confirming the truth, the reality of God’s presence at Jesus’ baptism and crucifixion, bringing those occasions alive for us. A triple testimony: the Spirit, the Baptism, the Crucifixion. And the three in perfect agreement.
9-10  If we take human testimony at face value, how much more should we be reassured when God gives testimony as he does here, testifying concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God inwardly confirms God’s testimony. Whoever refuses to believe in effect calls God a liar, refusing to believe God’s own testimony regarding his Son.

Those Who Believe in Jesus Are God’s Children (I John 5:1-5) God's Word and The Message Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION
1   Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born from God. Everyone who loves the Father also loves his children.
2  We know that we love God’s children when we love God by obeying his commandments. 
3  To love God means that we obey his commandments. Obeying his commandments isn’t difficult 
4   because everyone who has been born from God has won the victory over the world. Our faith is what wins the victory over the world. 
5   Who wins the victory over the world? Isn’t it the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION
1-3  Every person who believes that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah, is God-begotten. If we love the One who conceives the child, we’ll surely love the child who was conceived. The reality test on whether or not we love God’s children is this: Do we love God? Do we keep his commands? The proof that we love God comes when we keep his commandments and they are not at all troublesome
4-5  Every God-begotten person conquers the world’s ways. The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. The person who wins out over the world’s ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God.

No Fear Exists Where His Love Is (I John 4:17-21) God's Word & The Message Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION
17  God’s love has reached its goal in us. So we look ahead with confidence to the day of judgment. While we are in this world, we are exactly like him with regard to love.  
18  No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn’t have perfect love.
19  We love because God loved us first. 
20  Whoever says, “I love God,” but hates another believer is a liar. People who don’t love other believers, whom they have seen, can’t love God, whom they have not seen. 
21  Christ has given us this commandment: The person who loves God must also love other believers\

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION

17-18  God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

19    We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.
20-21  If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.

The Knowledge of Knowing We Live In Him (I John 4:13-16) God's Word and The Message Translations

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION

13  We know that we live in him and he lives in us because he has given us his Spirit.

14  We have seen and testify to the fact that the Father sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 
15  God lives in those who declare that Jesus is the Son of God, and they live in God. 
16  We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them.

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION
13-16  This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.

Live Holy Lives (I Peter 1:13-21) God's Word & The Message Translation

God's Word Translation
13  Therefore, your minds must be clear and ready for action. Place your confidence completely in what God’s kindness will bring you when Jesus Christ appears again. 
14  Because you are children who obey God, don’t live the kind of lives you once lived. Once you lived to satisfy your desires because you didn’t know any better. 
15  But because the God who called you is holy, you must be holy in every aspect of your life. 
16  Scripture says, “Be holy, because I am holy.” 
17  So if you call God your Father, live your time as temporary residents on earth in fear. He is the God who judges all people by what they have done, and he doesn’t play favorites. 
18  Realize that you weren’t set free from the worthless life handed down to you from your ancestors by a payment of silver or gold which can be destroyed. 
19  Rather, the payment that freed you was the precious blood of Christ, the lamb with no defects or imperfections. 
20  He is the lamb who was known long ago before the world existed, but for your good he became publicly known in the last period of time. 
21  Through him you believe in God who brought Christ back to life and gave him glory. So your faith and confidence are in God.

The Message Translation

13-16  So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”

17    You call out to God for help and he helps—he’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, he’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living.
18-21  Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.

Listening And Doing (James 1:19-27) God's Word and The Message Translation

James 1:19-27 (God's Word Translation)
19  Remember this, my dear brothers and sisters: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and should not get angry easily. 
20  An angry person doesn’t do what God approves of. 
21  So get rid of all immoral behavior and all the wicked things you do. Humbly accept the word that God has placed in you. This word can save you.
22  Do what God’s word says. Don’t merely listen to it, or you will fool yourselves. 
23  If someone listens to God’s word but doesn’t do what it says, he is like a person who looks at his face in a mirror, 
24  studies his features, goes away, and immediately forgets what he looks like. 
25  However, the person who continues to study God’s perfect laws that make people free and who remains committed to them will be blessed. People like that don’t merely listen and forget; they actually do what God’s laws say.
26  If a person thinks that he is religious but can’t control his tongue, he is fooling himself. That person’s religion is worthless. 
27  Pure, unstained religion, according to God our Father, is to take care of orphans and widows when they suffer and to remain uncorrupted by this world.

James 1:19-27 (The Message Translation)

19-21  Most this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.

22-24  Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.
25  But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.
26-27  Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

Do Not Love The World (I John 2:15-17) God's Word & The Message Translation

I John 2:15-17 (God's Word Translation)
15  Don’t love the world and what it offers. Those who love the world don’t have the Father’s love in them.
16  Not everything that the world offers—physical gratification, greed, and extravagant lifestyles—comes from the Father. It comes from the world, and 
17  the world and its evil desires are passing away. But the person who does what God wants lives forever.

I John 2:15-17 (The Message Translation)
15-17  Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

Jesus The Bread of Life (John 6:53-59) God's Word & The Message Translation

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION
53  Jesus told them, “I can guarantee this truth: If you don’t eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have the source of life in you. 
54  Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will bring them back to life on the last day. 
55  My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 
56  Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. 
57  The Father who has life sent me, and I live because of the Father. So those who feed on me will live because of me. 
58  This is the bread that came from heaven. It is not like the bread your ancestors ate. They eventually died. Those who eat this bread will live forever.”
59  Jesus said this while he was teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum.

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION
^53-58 But Jesus didn’t give an inch. “Only insofar as you eat and drink flesh and blood, the flesh and blood of the Son of Man, do you have life within you. The one who brings a hearty appetite to this eating and drinking has eternal life and will be fit and ready for the Final Day. My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. By eating my flesh and drinking my blood you enter into me and I into you. In the same way that the fully alive Father sent me here and I live because of him, so the one who makes a meal of me lives because of me. This is the Bread from heaven. Your ancestors ate bread and later died. Whoever eats this Bread will live always.”

⁵⁹ He said these things while teaching in the meeting place in Capernaum.

Today Is My Tomorrow

Today is my tomorrow. 

It’s up to me to shape it,

TO TAKE CONTROL

And seize every opportunity.

The power is in the choices

I make each day.

EAT WELL, I LIVE WELL.

I SHAPE ME

Live a Life that Matters

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.  There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.  All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else.

Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.  It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.  Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear.

So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire.  The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.  It won’t matter where you came from.

It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.  Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.  So what will matter?

What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built.  Not what you got, but what you gave.

What will matter is not your success, but your significance.

What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.

What will matter is not your competence, but your character.

What will matter is not how many people you knew but how many will feel a lasting loss when you are gone.

What will matter is not your memories but the memories that live on in those who loved you.

What will matter is how long you will be remembered and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident,  It happens by choice…

From:   “For With God Nothing Shall Be Impossible-:Luke 1:37” page

Warning Against Unbelief (Hebrews 3:7-11) God's Word & The Message Translation

HEBREWS 3:7-11 GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION
7   As the Holy Spirit says, “If you hear God speak today, don’t be stubborn.
8   Don’t be stubborn like those who rebelled and tested me in the desert.
9   That is where your ancestors tested me,
10  although they had seen what I had done for 40 years.  That is why I was angry with those people. So I said, ‘Their hearts continue to stray, and they have not learned my ways.’
11  So I angrily took a solemn oath that they would never enter my place of rest.”

HEBREWS 3:7-11 THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION
6-11  Now, if we can only keep a firm grip on this bold confidence, we’re the house! That’s why the Holy Spirit says, Today, please listen;  don’t turn a deaf ear as in “the bitter uprising,” that time of wilderness testing!  Even though they watched me at work for forty years, your ancestors refused to let me do it my way; over and over they tried my patience.  And I was provoked, oh, so provoked!  I said, “They’ll never keep their minds on God; they refuse to walk down my road.”  Exasperated, I vowed, “They’ll never get where they’re going, never be able to sit down and rest.”

Being Enslaved by Sin Again (2 Peter 2:20-22 & Proverbs 26:11-12) GOD'S WORD & THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION

2 PETER 2:20-22 & PROVERBS 26:11-12 GOD'S WORD
20  People can know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and escape the world’s filth. But if they get involved in this filth again and give in to it, they are worse off than they were before. 
21  It would have been better for them never to have known the way of life that God approves of than to know it and turn their backs on the holy life God told them to live. 
22  These proverbs have come true for them: “A dog goes back to its vomit,” and “A sow that has been washed goes back to roll around in the mud.”

PROVERBS 26:11-12
11  As a dog goes back to its vomit, so a fool repeats his stupidity.
12  Have you met a person who thinks he is wise?  There is more hope for a fool than for him.

2 PETER 2:20-22 & PROVERBS 26:11-12 THE MESSAGE
20-22  If they’ve escaped from the slum of sin by experiencing our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ, and then slid back into that same old life again, they’re worse than if they had never left. Better not to have started out on the straight road to God than to start out and then turn back, repudiating the experience and the holy command. They prove the point of the proverbs, “A dog goes back to its own vomit” and “A scrubbed-up pig heads for the mud.”

PROVERBS 26:11-12

11  As a dog eats its own vomit, so fools recycle silliness.

12  See that man who thinks he’s so smart?  You can expect far more from a fool than from him.

God Put Everything under Jesus' Control (Hebrews 2:5-9) God's Word and The Message Translation

HEBREWS 2:5-9 GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION
5  He didn’t put the world that will come (about which we are talking) under the angels’ control. 
6  Instead, someone has declared this somewhere in Scripture:  “What is a mortal that you should remember him, or the Son of Man that you take care of him?  
7  You made him a little lower than the angels.  You crowned him with glory and honor. 
8   You put everything under his control.”  When God put everything under his Son’s control, nothing was left out.  However, at the present time we still don’t see everything under his Son’s control. 
9  Jesus was made a little lower than the angels, but we see him crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death. Through God’s kindness he died on behalf of everyone.

HEBREWS 2:5-9 THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION

5-9  God didn’t put angels in charge of this business of salvation that we’re dealing with here. It says in Scripture,  What is man and woman that you bother with them; why take a second look their way?  You made them not quite as high as angels, bright with Eden’s dawn light; Then you put them in charge of your entire handcrafted world.  When God put them in charge of everything, nothing was excluded. But we don’t see it yet, don’t see everything under human jurisdiction. What we do see is Jesus, made “not quite as high as angels,” and then, through the experience of death, crowned so much higher than any angel, with a glory “bright with Eden’s dawn light.” In that death, by God’s grace, he fully experienced death in every person’s place.

Everything Is Under Jesus’ Control (Hebrews 2:1-4) The Message and God's Word Translation

^{THE MESSAGE (HEBREWS 2:1-4)}
1-4  It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off. If the old message delivered by the angels was valid and nobody got away with anything, do you think we can risk neglecting this latest message, this magnificent salvation? First of all, it was delivered in person by the Master, then accurately passed on to us by those who heard it from him. All the while God was validating it with gifts through the Holy Spirit, all sorts of signs and miracles, as he saw fit.

GOD'S WORD (HEBREWS 2:1-4)
1   For this reason we must pay closer attention to what we have heard. Then we won’t drift away from the truth. 
2   After all, the message that the angels brought was reliable, and every violation and act of disobedience was properly punished. 
3   So how will we escape punishment if we reject the important message, the message that God saved us? First, the Lord told this saving message. Then those who heard him confirmed that message. 
4   God verified what they said through miraculous signs, amazing things, other powerful acts, and with other gifts from the Holy Spirit as he wanted.

Faith Directs Our Lives Hebrews 12-1-13) GOD'S WORD AND THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION

HEBREWS 12:1-13 GOD'S WORD

1    Since we are surrounded by so many examples of faith, we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially sin that distracts us. We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up.

2    We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Then he received the highest position in heaven, the one next to the throne of God. 

3    Think about Jesus, who endured opposition from sinners, so that you don’t become tired and give up.

4    You struggle against sin, but your struggles haven’t killed you. 

5    You have forgotten the encouraging words that God speaks to you as his children:  “My child, pay attention when the Lord disciplines you.  Don’t give up when he corrects you.  

6    The Lord disciplines everyone he loves.  He severely disciplines everyone he accepts as his child.”

7    Endure your discipline. God corrects you as a father corrects his children. All children are disciplined by their fathers. 

8    If you aren’t disciplined like the other children, you aren’t part of the family. 

9    On earth we have fathers who disciplined us, and we respect them. Shouldn’t we place ourselves under the authority of God, the father of spirits, so that we will live? 

10  For a short time our fathers disciplined us as they thought best. Yet, God disciplines us for our own good so that we can become holy like him. 

11  We don’t enjoy being disciplined. It always seems to cause more pain than joy. But later on, those who learn from that discipline have peace that comes from doing what is right.

12  Strengthen your tired arms and weak knees. 

13  Keep walking along straight paths so that your injured leg won’t get worse. Instead, let it heal.

THE MESSAGE 12:1-13

1-3    Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

4-11   In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?  My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either.  It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects.  God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.

12-13  So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!

Warning Against Refusing God (Hebrews 12:14-17) ... The Message Translation and God's Word Translation

THE MESSAGE TRANSLATION
Hebrews 12:14-17
14-17  Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.

GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION
HEBREWS 12:14-17
14  Try to live peacefully with everyone, and try to live holy lives, because if you don’t, you will not see the Lord. 
15  Make sure that everyone has kindness from God so that bitterness doesn’t take root and grow up to cause trouble that corrupts many of you. 
16  Make sure that no one commits sexual sin or is as concerned about earthly things as Esau was. He sold his rights as the firstborn son for a single meal. 
17  You know that afterwards, when he wanted to receive the blessing that the firstborn son was to receive, he was rejected. Even though he begged and cried for the blessing, he couldn’t do anything to change what had happened.

The Grace Of God (Titus 2:11-15) NIV

11  For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.
12  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
13  while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
14  who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
15  These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

Instructions On The Way Christians Should Live (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8) GOD’S WORD Translation

1  Now then, brothers and sisters, because of the Lord Jesus we ask and encourage you to excel in living a God-pleasing life even more than you already do. Do this the way we taught you. 
2  You know what orders we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 
3  It is God’s will that you keep away from sexual sin as a mark of your devotion to him. 
4  Each of you should know that finding a husband or wife for yourself is to be done in a holy and honorable way, 
5  not in the passionate, lustful way of people who don’t know God. 
6  No one should take advantage of or exploit other believers that way. The Lord is the one who punishes people for all these things. We’ve already told you and warned you about this. 
7  God didn’t call us to be sexually immoral but to be holy. 
8  Therefore, whoever rejects this order is not rejecting human authority but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

Advice for All Christians (Colossians 4:2-6) God's Word translation

2  Keep praying. Pay attention when you offer prayers of thanksgiving. 

3  At the same time also pray for us. Pray that God will give us an opportunity to speak the word so that we may tell the mystery about Christ. It is because of this mystery that I am a prisoner. 

4  Pray that I may make this mystery as clear as possible. This is what I have to do.

5  Be wise in the way you act toward those who are outside the Christian faith. Make the most of your opportunities.

6  Everything you say should be kind and well thought out so that you know how to answer everyone.

May You Be Blessed, 

Mary

Let Christ's Peace Control You (Colossians 3:9-17) God's Word translation

9   Don’t lie to each other. You’ve gotten rid of the person you used to be and the life you used to live, 
10 and you’ve become a new person. This new person is continually renewed in knowledge to be like its Creator. 
11  Where this happens, there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, uncivilized person, slave, or free person. Instead, Christ is everything and in everything.
12  As holy people whom God has chosen and loved, be sympathetic, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. 
13  Put up with each other, and forgive each other if anyone has a complaint. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 
14  Above all, be loving. This ties everything together perfectly. 
15  Also, let Christ’s peace control you. God has called you into this peace by bringing you into one body. Be thankful. 
16  Let Christ’s word with all its wisdom and richness live in you. Use psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to teach and instruct yourselves about God’s kindness. Sing to God in your hearts. 
17  Everything you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Live as God’s People (Colossians 3:1-8) God's Word translation

1  Since you were brought back to life with Christ, focus on the things that are above—where Christ holds the highest position. 

2  Keep your mind on things above, not on worldly things. 

3  You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 

4  Christ is your life. When he appears, then you, too, will appear with him in glory.

5  Therefore, put to death whatever is worldly in you: your sexual sin, perversion, passion, lust, and greed (which is the same thing as worshiping wealth). 

6  It is because of these sins that God’s anger comes on those who refuse to obey him.

7  You used to live that kind of sinful life. 

8  Also get rid of your anger, hot tempers, hatred, cursing, obscene language, and all similar sins. 

Beware of Requirements Invented by Humans (Colossians 2:8-23) "God's Word" translation

8    Be careful not to let anyone rob you of this faith through a shallow and misleading philosophy. Such a person follows human traditions and the world’s way of doing things rather than following Christ.

9    All of God lives in Christ’s body, 

10  and God has made you complete in Christ. Christ is in charge of every ruler and authority. 

11  In him you were also circumcised. It was not a circumcision performed by human hands. But it was a removal of the corrupt nature in the circumcision performed by Christ. 

12  This happened when you were placed in the tomb with Christ through baptism. In baptism you were also brought back to life with Christ through faith in the power of God, who brought him back to life.

13  You were once dead because of your failures and your uncircumcised corrupt nature. But God made you alive with Christ when he forgave all our failures. 

14  He did this by erasing the charges that were brought against us by the written laws God had established. He took the charges away by nailing them to the cross. 

15  He stripped the rulers and authorities of their power and made a public spectacle of them as he celebrated his victory in Christ.

16  Therefore, let no one judge you because of what you eat or drink or about the observance of annual holy days, New Moon Festivals, or weekly worship days. 

17  These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts the shadow belongs to Christ.

18  Let no one who delights in false humility and the worship of angels tell you that you don’t deserve a prize. Such a person, whose sinful mind fills him with arrogance, gives endless details of the visions he has seen. 

19  He doesn’t hold on to Christ, the head. Christ makes the whole body grow as God wants it to, through support and unity given by the joints and ligaments.

20  If you have died with Christ to the world’s way of doing things, why do you let others tell you how to live? It’s as though you were still under the world’s influence. 

21  People will tell you, “Don’t handle this! Don’t taste or touch that!” 

22  All of these things deal with objects that are only used up anyway. 

23  These things look like wisdom with their self-imposed worship, false humility, and harsh treatment of the body. But they have no value for holding back the constant desires of your corrupt nature.

What God Has Done Through Christ (Colossians 1:13-23) "The Word"

13  God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of his Son, whom he loves. 

14  His Son paid the price to free us, which means that our sins are forgiven.

15  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

16  He created all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.  Whether they are kings or lords, rulers or powers—everything has been created through him and for him.

17  He existed before everything and holds everything together.

18  He is also the head of the church, which is his body.  He is the beginning, the first to come back to life

      so that he would have first place in everything.

19  God was pleased to have all of himself live in Christ. 

20  God was also pleased to bring everything on earth and in heaven back to himself through Christ. He did this by making peace through Christ’s blood sacrificed on the cross.

21  Once you were separated from God. The evil things you did showed your hostile attitude. 

22  But now Christ has brought you back to God by dying in his physical body. He did this so that you could come into God’s presence without sin, fault, or blame. 

23  This is on the condition that you continue in faith without being moved from the solid foundation of the hope that the Good News contains. You’ve heard this Good News of which I, Paul, became a servant. It has been spread throughout all creation under heaven.