Study Desk

So through Jesus let us always offer to God our sacrifice of praise, coming from lips that speak his name.

Obey your leaders and act under their authority. They are watching over you, because they are responsible for your souls. Obey them so that they will do this work with joy, not sadness. It will not help you to make their work hard.

I especially beg you to pray so that God will send me back to you soon.

I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing you need so you can do what he wants. God raised from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, because of the blood of his death. His blood began the eternal agreement that God made with his people. I pray that God will do in us what pleases him, through Jesus Christ, and to him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

God decided to give us life through the word of truth so we might be the most important of all the things he made.

So put out of your life every evil thing and every kind of wrong. Then in gentleness accept God's teaching that is planted in your hearts, which can save you.

The same God who said, "You must not be guilty of adultery," also said, "You must not murder anyone." So if you do not take part in adultery but you murder someone, you are guilty of breaking all of God's law.

So you must show mercy to others, or God will not show mercy to you when he judges you. But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear at the judgment.

So you see that Abraham's faith and the things he did worked together. His faith was made perfect by what he did.

So you see that people are made right with God by what they do, not by faith only.

Just as a person's body that does not have a spirit is dead, so faith that does nothing is dead!

You want things, but you do not have them. So you are ready to kill and are jealous of other people, but you still cannot get what you want. So you argue and fight. You do not get what you want, because you do not ask God.

Or when you ask, you do not receive because the reason you ask is wrong. You want things so you can use them for your own pleasures.

So, you are not loyal to God! You should know that loving the world is the same as hating God. Anyone who wants to be a friend of the world becomes God's enemy.

So give yourselves completely to God. Stand against the devil, and the devil will run from you.

God is the only Lawmaker and Judge. He is the only One who can save and destroy. So it is not right for you to judge your neighbor.

So you should say, "If the Lord wants, we will live and do this or that."

My brothers and sisters, above all, do not use an oath when you make a promise. Don't use the name of heaven, earth, or anything else to prove what you say. When you mean yes, say only yes, and when you mean no, say only no so you will not be judged guilty.

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. When a believing person prays, great things happen.

You have not seen Christ, but still you love him. You cannot see him now, but you believe in him. So you are filled with a joy that cannot be explained, a joy full of glory.