Matthew 7:24 “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words ...

7:24 MSG

逐节对照

The Message - “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
新标点和合本 - “所以，凡听见我这话就去行的，好比一个聪明人，把房子盖在磐石上；
和合本2010（上帝版-简体） - “所以，凡听了我这些话又去做的，好比一个聪明人把房子盖在磐石上。
和合本2010（神版-简体） - “所以，凡听了我这些话又去做的，好比一个聪明人把房子盖在磐石上。
当代译本 - “所以，凡听了我的这些话就去行的人，就像聪明人把房子建在磐石上。
圣经新译本 - “所以，凡听见我这些话又遵行的，就像聪明的人，把自己的房子盖在磐石上。
中文标准译本 - “因此，凡是听了我这些话而实行的人，就好比一个聪明的人把自己的房子建在磐石上。
现代标点和合本 - “所以，凡听见我这话就去行的，好比一个聪明人，把房子盖在磐石上。
和合本（拼音版） - “所以，凡听见我这话就去行的，好比一个聪明人，把房子盖在磐石上。
New International Version - “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
New International Reader's Version - “So then, everyone who hears my words and puts them into practice is like a wise man. He builds his house on the rock.
English Standard Version - “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
New Living Translation - “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.
Christian Standard Bible - “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
New American Standard Bible - “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
New King James Version - “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
Amplified Bible - “So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock.
American Standard Version - Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock:
King James Version - Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
New English Translation - “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.
World English Bible - “Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock.
新標點和合本 - 「所以，凡聽見我這話就去行的，好比一個聰明人，把房子蓋在磐石上；
和合本2010（上帝版-繁體） - 「所以，凡聽了我這些話又去做的，好比一個聰明人把房子蓋在磐石上。
和合本2010（神版-繁體） - 「所以，凡聽了我這些話又去做的，好比一個聰明人把房子蓋在磐石上。
當代譯本 - 「所以，凡聽了我的這些話就去行的人，就像聰明人把房子建在磐石上。
聖經新譯本 - “所以，凡聽見我這些話又遵行的，就像聰明的人，把自己的房子蓋在磐石上。
呂振中譯本 - 『所以凡聽我這些話而實行的，好比一個精明的人，把他的房子建造在磐石上。
中文標準譯本 - 「因此，凡是聽了我這些話而實行的人，就好比一個聰明的人把自己的房子建在磐石上。
現代標點和合本 - 「所以，凡聽見我這話就去行的，好比一個聰明人，把房子蓋在磐石上。
文理和合譯本 - 凡聞我言而行之者、譬諸智人、建屋磐上、
文理委辦譯本 - 聞吾言而行之者、譬彼智人、建屋磐上、
施約瑟淺文理新舊約聖經 - 故凡聞我此言而行之者、我譬之智人、建屋於磐上、
吳經熊文理聖詠與新經全集 - 是以聞道而能篤實履踐者、譬諸有識者建屋於磐石之上、
Nueva Versión Internacional - »Por tanto, todo el que me oye estas palabras y las pone en práctica es como un hombre prudente que construyó su casa sobre la roca.
현대인의 성경 - “그러므로 내 말을 듣고 실천하는 사람은 반석 위에 집을 지은 지혜로운 사람과 같다.
Новый Русский Перевод - Того, кто слушает эти Мои слова и исполняет их, можно сравнить с мудрым человеком, построившим свой дом на камне.
Восточный перевод - – Того, кто слушает эти Мои слова и исполняет их, можно сравнить с мудрым человеком, построившим свой дом на камне.
Восточный перевод, версия с «Аллахом» - – Того, кто слушает эти Мои слова и исполняет их, можно сравнить с мудрым человеком, построившим свой дом на камне.
Восточный перевод, версия для Таджикистана - – Того, кто слушает эти Мои слова и исполняет их, можно сравнить с мудрым человеком, построившим свой дом на камне.
La Bible du Semeur 2015 - C’est pourquoi, celui qui écoute ce que je dis et qui l’applique, ressemble à un homme sensé qui a bâti sa maison sur le roc.
リビングバイブル - わたしの教えを聞いて、そのとおり忠実に実行する人はみな、堅い岩の上に家を建てる賢い人に似ています。
Nestle Aland 28 - Πᾶς οὖν ὅστις ἀκούει μου τοὺς λόγους τούτους καὶ ποιεῖ αὐτούς, ὁμοιωθήσεται ἀνδρὶ φρονίμῳ, ὅστις ᾠκοδόμησεν αὐτοῦ τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν·
unfoldingWord® Greek New Testament - πᾶς οὖν ὅστις ἀκούει μου τοὺς λόγους τούτους καὶ ποιεῖ αὐτούς, ὁμοιωθήσεται ἀνδρὶ φρονίμῳ, ὅστις ᾠκοδόμησεν αὐτοῦ τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν.
Nova Versão Internacional - “Portanto, quem ouve estas minhas palavras e as pratica é como um homem prudente que construiu a sua casa sobre a rocha.
Hoffnung für alle - »Wer nun auf das hört, was ich gesagt habe, und danach handelt, der ist klug. Man kann ihn mit einem Mann vergleichen, der sein Haus auf felsigen Grund baut.
Kinh Thánh Hiện Đại - “Ai nghe lời Ta và thực hành mới là người khôn ngoan, giống như người xây nhà trên vầng đá vững chắc.
พระคริสตธรรมคัมภีร์ไทย ฉบับอมตธรรมร่วมสมัย - “ฉะนั้นทุกคนที่ได้ยินคำเหล่านี้ของเราและนำไปปฏิบัติก็เป็นเหมือนคนฉลาดที่สร้างบ้านของตนบนศิลา
พระคัมภีร์ ฉบับแปลใหม่ - ฉะนั้น ทุกคนที่ได้ยินคำของเราแล้วปฏิบัติตาม ก็เปรียบเสมือนคนที่มีสติปัญญา ที่สร้างบ้านของเขาบนฐานรากที่เป็นหิน

交叉引用

Matthew 6:14 - “In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.
James 3:13 - 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 plotting. 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.
James 3:17 - 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.
Romans 2:9 - If you go against the grain, you get splinters, regardless of which neighborhood you’re from, what your parents taught you, what schools you attended. But if you embrace the way God does things, there are wonderful payoffs, again without regard to where you are from or how you were brought up. Being a Jew won’t give you an automatic stamp of approval. God pays no attention to what others say (or what you think) about you. He makes up his own mind.
Revelation 22:14 - “How blessed are those who wash their robes! The Tree of Life is theirs for good, and they’ll walk through the gates to the City. But outside for good are the filthy curs: sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters—all who love and live lies.
Matthew 5:29 - “Let’s not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here’s what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile. And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly. Better a bloody stump than your entire being discarded for good in the dump.
Matthew 5:31 - “Remember the Scripture that says, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him do it legally, giving her divorce papers and her legal rights’? Too many of you are using that as a cover for selfishness and whim, pretending to be righteous just because you are ‘legal.’ Please, no more pretending. If you divorce your wife, you’re responsible for making her an adulteress (unless she has already made herself that by sexual promiscuity). And if you marry such a divorced adulteress, you’re automatically an adulterer yourself. You can’t use legal cover to mask a moral failure.
Galatians 5:7 - You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn’t come from the One who called you into the race in the first place. And please don’t toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread. Deep down, the Master has given me confidence that you will not defect. But the one who is upsetting you, whoever he is, will bear the divine judgment.
Matthew 5:3 - “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
Matthew 5:4 - “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
Matthew 5:5 - “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
Matthew 5:6 - “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
Matthew 5:7 - “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
Matthew 5:8 - “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
Matthew 5:9 - “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
Matthew 5:10 - “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
Matthew 5:11 - “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.
1 John 5:4 - Every God-born 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.
Proverbs 14:8 - The wisdom of the wise keeps life on track; the foolishness of fools lands them in the ditch.
Matthew 7:13 - “Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.
Matthew 7:7 - “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?
Galatians 6:7 - Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.
John 14:22 - Judas (not Iscariot) said, “Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?”
John 14:23 - “Because a loveless world,” said Jesus, “is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn’t mine. It’s the message of the Father who sent me.
Matthew 6:19 - “Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
Proverbs 10:8 - A wise heart takes orders; an empty head will come unglued.
James 1:22 - 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.
James 1:25 - 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.
James 1:26 - 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.
John 14:15 - “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!
James 2:18 - I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.” Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.
James 2:19 - Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?
James 2:21 - Wasn’t our ancestor Abraham “made right with God by works” when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn’t it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are “works of faith”? The full meaning of “believe” in the Scripture sentence, “Abraham believed God and was set right with God,” includes his action. It’s that weave of believing and acting that got Abraham named “God’s friend.” Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?
James 2:25 - The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn’t her action in hiding God’s spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.
Luke 11:28 - Jesus commented, “Even more blessed are those who hear God’s Word and guard it with their lives!”
Luke 6:48 - “If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.”

逐节对照

交叉引用

The Message - “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
新标点和合本 - “所以，凡听见我这话就去行的，好比一个聪明人，把房子盖在磐石上；
和合本2010（上帝版-简体） - “所以，凡听了我这些话又去做的，好比一个聪明人把房子盖在磐石上。
和合本2010（神版-简体） - “所以，凡听了我这些话又去做的，好比一个聪明人把房子盖在磐石上。
当代译本 - “所以，凡听了我的这些话就去行的人，就像聪明人把房子建在磐石上。
圣经新译本 - “所以，凡听见我这些话又遵行的，就像聪明的人，把自己的房子盖在磐石上。
中文标准译本 - “因此，凡是听了我这些话而实行的人，就好比一个聪明的人把自己的房子建在磐石上。
现代标点和合本 - “所以，凡听见我这话就去行的，好比一个聪明人，把房子盖在磐石上。
和合本（拼音版） - “所以，凡听见我这话就去行的，好比一个聪明人，把房子盖在磐石上。
New International Version - “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
New International Reader's Version - “So then, everyone who hears my words and puts them into practice is like a wise man. He builds his house on the rock.
English Standard Version - “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
New Living Translation - “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.
Christian Standard Bible - “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
New American Standard Bible - “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
New King James Version - “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
Amplified Bible - “So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock.
American Standard Version - Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock:
King James Version - Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
New English Translation - “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.
World English Bible - “Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock.
新標點和合本 - 「所以，凡聽見我這話就去行的，好比一個聰明人，把房子蓋在磐石上；
和合本2010（上帝版-繁體） - 「所以，凡聽了我這些話又去做的，好比一個聰明人把房子蓋在磐石上。
和合本2010（神版-繁體） - 「所以，凡聽了我這些話又去做的，好比一個聰明人把房子蓋在磐石上。
當代譯本 - 「所以，凡聽了我的這些話就去行的人，就像聰明人把房子建在磐石上。
聖經新譯本 - “所以，凡聽見我這些話又遵行的，就像聰明的人，把自己的房子蓋在磐石上。
呂振中譯本 - 『所以凡聽我這些話而實行的，好比一個精明的人，把他的房子建造在磐石上。
中文標準譯本 - 「因此，凡是聽了我這些話而實行的人，就好比一個聰明的人把自己的房子建在磐石上。
現代標點和合本 - 「所以，凡聽見我這話就去行的，好比一個聰明人，把房子蓋在磐石上。
文理和合譯本 - 凡聞我言而行之者、譬諸智人、建屋磐上、
文理委辦譯本 - 聞吾言而行之者、譬彼智人、建屋磐上、
施約瑟淺文理新舊約聖經 - 故凡聞我此言而行之者、我譬之智人、建屋於磐上、
吳經熊文理聖詠與新經全集 - 是以聞道而能篤實履踐者、譬諸有識者建屋於磐石之上、
Nueva Versión Internacional - »Por tanto, todo el que me oye estas palabras y las pone en práctica es como un hombre prudente que construyó su casa sobre la roca.
현대인의 성경 - “그러므로 내 말을 듣고 실천하는 사람은 반석 위에 집을 지은 지혜로운 사람과 같다.
Новый Русский Перевод - Того, кто слушает эти Мои слова и исполняет их, можно сравнить с мудрым человеком, построившим свой дом на камне.
Восточный перевод - – Того, кто слушает эти Мои слова и исполняет их, можно сравнить с мудрым человеком, построившим свой дом на камне.
Восточный перевод, версия с «Аллахом» - – Того, кто слушает эти Мои слова и исполняет их, можно сравнить с мудрым человеком, построившим свой дом на камне.
Восточный перевод, версия для Таджикистана - – Того, кто слушает эти Мои слова и исполняет их, можно сравнить с мудрым человеком, построившим свой дом на камне.
La Bible du Semeur 2015 - C’est pourquoi, celui qui écoute ce que je dis et qui l’applique, ressemble à un homme sensé qui a bâti sa maison sur le roc.
リビングバイブル - わたしの教えを聞いて、そのとおり忠実に実行する人はみな、堅い岩の上に家を建てる賢い人に似ています。
Nestle Aland 28 - Πᾶς οὖν ὅστις ἀκούει μου τοὺς λόγους τούτους καὶ ποιεῖ αὐτούς, ὁμοιωθήσεται ἀνδρὶ φρονίμῳ, ὅστις ᾠκοδόμησεν αὐτοῦ τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν·
unfoldingWord® Greek New Testament - πᾶς οὖν ὅστις ἀκούει μου τοὺς λόγους τούτους καὶ ποιεῖ αὐτούς, ὁμοιωθήσεται ἀνδρὶ φρονίμῳ, ὅστις ᾠκοδόμησεν αὐτοῦ τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν.
Nova Versão Internacional - “Portanto, quem ouve estas minhas palavras e as pratica é como um homem prudente que construiu a sua casa sobre a rocha.
Hoffnung für alle - »Wer nun auf das hört, was ich gesagt habe, und danach handelt, der ist klug. Man kann ihn mit einem Mann vergleichen, der sein Haus auf felsigen Grund baut.
Kinh Thánh Hiện Đại - “Ai nghe lời Ta và thực hành mới là người khôn ngoan, giống như người xây nhà trên vầng đá vững chắc.
พระคริสตธรรมคัมภีร์ไทย ฉบับอมตธรรมร่วมสมัย - “ฉะนั้นทุกคนที่ได้ยินคำเหล่านี้ของเราและนำไปปฏิบัติก็เป็นเหมือนคนฉลาดที่สร้างบ้านของตนบนศิลา
พระคัมภีร์ ฉบับแปลใหม่ - ฉะนั้น ทุกคนที่ได้ยินคำของเราแล้วปฏิบัติตาม ก็เปรียบเสมือนคนที่มีสติปัญญา ที่สร้างบ้านของเขาบนฐานรากที่เป็นหิน

Matthew 6:14 - “In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.
James 3:13 - 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 plotting. 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.
James 3:17 - 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.
Romans 2:9 - If you go against the grain, you get splinters, regardless of which neighborhood you’re from, what your parents taught you, what schools you attended. But if you embrace the way God does things, there are wonderful payoffs, again without regard to where you are from or how you were brought up. Being a Jew won’t give you an automatic stamp of approval. God pays no attention to what others say (or what you think) about you. He makes up his own mind.
Revelation 22:14 - “How blessed are those who wash their robes! The Tree of Life is theirs for good, and they’ll walk through the gates to the City. But outside for good are the filthy curs: sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters—all who love and live lies.
Matthew 5:29 - “Let’s not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here’s what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile. And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly. Better a bloody stump than your entire being discarded for good in the dump.
Matthew 5:31 - “Remember the Scripture that says, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him do it legally, giving her divorce papers and her legal rights’? Too many of you are using that as a cover for selfishness and whim, pretending to be righteous just because you are ‘legal.’ Please, no more pretending. If you divorce your wife, you’re responsible for making her an adulteress (unless she has already made herself that by sexual promiscuity). And if you marry such a divorced adulteress, you’re automatically an adulterer yourself. You can’t use legal cover to mask a moral failure.
Galatians 5:7 - You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn’t come from the One who called you into the race in the first place. And please don’t toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread. Deep down, the Master has given me confidence that you will not defect. But the one who is upsetting you, whoever he is, will bear the divine judgment.
Matthew 5:3 - “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
Matthew 5:4 - “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
Matthew 5:5 - “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
Matthew 5:6 - “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
Matthew 5:7 - “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
Matthew 5:8 - “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
Matthew 5:9 - “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
Matthew 5:10 - “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
Matthew 5:11 - “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.
1 John 5:4 - Every God-born 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.
Proverbs 14:8 - The wisdom of the wise keeps life on track; the foolishness of fools lands them in the ditch.
Matthew 7:13 - “Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.
Matthew 7:7 - “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?
Galatians 6:7 - Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.
John 14:22 - Judas (not Iscariot) said, “Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?”
John 14:23 - “Because a loveless world,” said Jesus, “is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn’t mine. It’s the message of the Father who sent me.
Matthew 6:19 - “Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
Proverbs 10:8 - A wise heart takes orders; an empty head will come unglued.
James 1:22 - 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.
James 1:25 - 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.
James 1:26 - 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.
John 14:15 - “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!
James 2:18 - I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.” Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.
James 2:19 - Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?
James 2:21 - Wasn’t our ancestor Abraham “made right with God by works” when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn’t it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are “works of faith”? The full meaning of “believe” in the Scripture sentence, “Abraham believed God and was set right with God,” includes his action. It’s that weave of believing and acting that got Abraham named “God’s friend.” Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?
James 2:25 - The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn’t her action in hiding God’s spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.
Luke 11:28 - Jesus commented, “Even more blessed are those who hear God’s Word and guard it with their lives!”
Luke 6:48 - “If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.”