Ephesians 4:1 In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run...

4:1 MSG

逐节对照

The Message - In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.
新标点和合本 - 我为主被囚的劝你们：既然蒙召，行事为人就当与蒙召的恩相称。
和合本2010（上帝版-简体） - 我为主作囚徒的劝你们，既然蒙召，行事为人就要与你们所蒙的呼召相称。
和合本2010（神版-简体） - 我为主作囚徒的劝你们，既然蒙召，行事为人就要与你们所蒙的呼召相称。
当代译本 - 所以，我这为主被囚禁的劝你们，既然蒙了上帝的呼召，就要过与所蒙的呼召相称的生活。
圣经新译本 - 因此，我这为主被囚禁的劝你们：行事为人，要配得上你们所蒙的呼召，
中文标准译本 - 所以，我这个在主里的囚犯劝你们：行事为人要配得上你们所蒙的召唤，
现代标点和合本 - 我为主被囚的劝你们：既然蒙召，行事为人就当与蒙召的恩相称，
和合本（拼音版） - 我为主被囚的劝你们：既然蒙召，行事为人就当与蒙召的恩相称。
New International Version - As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
New International Reader's Version - I am a prisoner because of the Lord. So I am asking you to live a life worthy of what God chose you for.
English Standard Version - I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
New Living Translation - Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
Christian Standard Bible - Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received,
New American Standard Bible - Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
New King James Version - I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
Amplified Bible - So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior—a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation],
American Standard Version - I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called,
King James Version - I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
New English Translation - I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called,
World English Bible - I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
新標點和合本 - 我為主被囚的勸你們：既然蒙召，行事為人就當與蒙召的恩相稱。
和合本2010（上帝版-繁體） - 我為主作囚徒的勸你們，既然蒙召，行事為人就要與你們所蒙的呼召相稱。
和合本2010（神版-繁體） - 我為主作囚徒的勸你們，既然蒙召，行事為人就要與你們所蒙的呼召相稱。
當代譯本 - 所以，我這為主被囚禁的勸你們，既然蒙了上帝的呼召，就要過與所蒙的呼召相稱的生活。
聖經新譯本 - 因此，我這為主被囚禁的勸你們：行事為人，要配得上你們所蒙的呼召，
呂振中譯本 - 所以我為主的緣故做囚犯的勸你們、行事為人要對得起你們所蒙的呼召。
中文標準譯本 - 所以，我這個在主裡的囚犯勸你們：行事為人要配得上你們所蒙的召喚，
現代標點和合本 - 我為主被囚的勸你們：既然蒙召，行事為人就當與蒙召的恩相稱，
文理和合譯本 - 故我為主被囚者勸爾、所行宜稱乎所蒙之召、
文理委辦譯本 - 我為主被囚、勸爾行事、稱所蒙召之命、
施約瑟淺文理新舊約聖經 - 我為主被囚者勸爾、既蒙召、行事則當與蒙召之恩相稱、
吳經熊文理聖詠與新經全集 - 是故吾以因主被囚之身、剴切勸爾修身砥行、無忝爾之聖召、
Nueva Versión Internacional - Por eso yo, que estoy preso por la causa del Señor, les ruego que vivan de una manera digna del llamamiento que han recibido,
현대인의 성경 - 그러므로 주님을 위해 갇힌 나 바울이 권합니다. 여러분은 하나님의 부르심 을 받은 성도답게
Новый Русский Перевод - Я, находящийся в заключении ради Господа, умоляю вас: раз вы призваны Богом, то живите достойно вашего призвания.
Восточный перевод - Я, находящийся в заключении ради Повелителя, умоляю вас: раз вы призваны Всевышним, то живите достойно вашего призвания.
Восточный перевод, версия с «Аллахом» - Я, находящийся в заключении ради Повелителя, умоляю вас: раз вы призваны Аллахом, то живите достойно вашего призвания.
Восточный перевод, версия для Таджикистана - Я, находящийся в заключении ради Повелителя, умоляю вас: раз вы призваны Всевышним, то живите достойно вашего призвания.
La Bible du Semeur 2015 - Moi qui suis prisonnier à cause du Seigneur, je vous demande donc instamment de vous conduire d’une manière digne de l’appel qui vous a été adressé :
リビングバイブル - 主に仕えたために、今こうして牢獄につながれている私からお願いします。このようにすばらしい神の祝福を受けるために選ばれたあなたがたは、それにふさわしく生活し、行動してください。
Nestle Aland 28 - Παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς ἐγὼ ὁ δέσμιος ἐν κυρίῳ ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε,
unfoldingWord® Greek New Testament - παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς, ἐγὼ ὁ δέσμιος ἐν Κυρίῳ, ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε;
Nova Versão Internacional - Como prisioneiro no Senhor, rogo-lhes que vivam de maneira digna da vocação que receberam.
Hoffnung für alle - Ihr wisst, dass ich für den Herrn im Gefängnis bin. Als sein Gefangener bitte ich euch nun: Lebt so, dass Gott dadurch geehrt wird; er hat euch ja berufen, seine Kinder zu sein.
Kinh Thánh Hiện Đại - Vì thế, tôi, một người bị tù vì phục vụ Chúa, tôi nài xin anh chị em phải sống đúng theo tiêu chuẩn Đức Chúa Trời đã đặt khi Ngài tuyển chọn anh chị em làm con cái Ngài.
พระคริสตธรรมคัมภีร์ไทย ฉบับอมตธรรมร่วมสมัย - ฉะนั้นข้าพเจ้าผู้เป็นนักโทษเพื่อองค์พระผู้เป็นเจ้าจึงขอให้ท่านดำเนินชีวิตให้สมกับการทรงเรียกที่ท่านได้รับ
พระคัมภีร์ ฉบับแปลใหม่ - ฉะนั้น ข้าพเจ้าผู้เป็นนักโทษเนื่องจากการรับใช้พระผู้เป็นเจ้า ขอร้องให้ท่านดำเนินชีวิตให้สมกับที่พระองค์เรียกท่าน

交叉引用

Colossians 4:12 - Epaphras, who is one of you, says hello. What a trooper he has been! He’s been tireless in his prayers for you, praying that you’ll stand firm, mature and confident in everything God wants you to do. I’ve watched him closely, and can report on how hard he has worked for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
Jeremiah 38:20 - Jeremiah assured him, “They won’t get hold of you. Listen, please. Listen to God’s voice. I’m telling you this for your own good so that you’ll live. But if you refuse to turn yourself over, this is what God has shown me will happen: Picture this in your mind—all the women still left in the palace of the king of Judah, led out to the officers of the king of Babylon, and as they’re led out they are saying: “‘They lied to you and did you in, those so-called friends of yours; And now you’re stuck, about knee-deep in mud, and your “friends,” where are they now?’
2 Corinthians 10:1 - And now a personal but most urgent matter; I write in the gentle but firm spirit of Christ. I hear that I’m being painted as cringing and wishy-washy when I’m with you, but harsh and demanding when at a safe distance writing letters. Please don’t force me to take a hard line when I’m present with you. Don’t think that I’ll hesitate a single minute to stand up to those who say I’m an unprincipled opportunist. Then they’ll have to eat their words.
Acts 9:31 - Things calmed down after that and the church had smooth sailing for a while. All over the country—Judea, Samaria, Galilee—the church grew. They were permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God. The Holy Spirit was with them, strengthening them. They prospered wonderfully.
Philippians 3:17 - Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites.
Hebrews 3:1 - So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He’s the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do. Moses was also faithful, but Jesus gets far more honor. A builder is more valuable than a building any day. Every house has a builder, but the Builder behind them all is God. Moses did a good job in God’s house, but it was all servant work, getting things ready for what was to come. Christ as Son is in charge of the house.
Philemon 1:10 - While here in jail, I’ve fathered a child, so to speak. And here he is, hand-carrying this letter—Onesimus! He was useless to you before; now he’s useful to both of us. I’m sending him back to you, but it feels like I’m cutting off my right arm in doing so. I wanted in the worst way to keep him here as your stand-in to help out while I’m in jail for the Message. But I didn’t want to do anything behind your back, make you do a good deed that you hadn’t willingly agreed to.
Ephesians 4:4 - You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.
Romans 8:29 - God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.
Ephesians 4:17 - And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. They can’t think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion.
2 Corinthians 6:1 - Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don’t squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. God reminds us, I heard your call in the nick of time; The day you needed me, I was there to help. Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped. Don’t put it off; don’t frustrate God’s work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we’re doing. Our work as God’s servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly . . . in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we’re beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we’re telling the truth, and when God’s showing his power; when we’re doing our best setting things right; when we’re praised, and when we’re blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.
Colossians 2:6 - 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.
Galatians 4:12 - My dear friends, what I would really like you to do is try to put yourselves in my shoes to the same extent that I, when I was with you, put myself in yours. You were very sensitive and kind then. You did not come down on me personally. You were well aware that the reason I ended up preaching to you was that I was physically broken, and so, prevented from continuing my journey, I was forced to stop with you. That is how I came to preach to you.
1 Peter 2:11 - Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life in your neighborhood so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.
Ephesians 3:1 - This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you’re familiar with the part I was given in God’s plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief.
Genesis 5:24 - Enoch walked steadily with God. And then one day he was simply gone: God took him.
Romans 12:1 - So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
2 Thessalonians 1:11 - Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely.
Genesis 17:1 - When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God showed up and said to him, “I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt! I’ll make a covenant between us and I’ll give you a huge family.”
2 Peter 1:3 - Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.
1 Thessalonians 4:1 - One final word, friends. We ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life. Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity.
Philippians 1:27 - Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people’s trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they’re up against: defeat for them, victory for you—and both because of God. There’s far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There’s also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting. You’re involved in the same kind of struggle you saw me go through, on which you are now getting an updated report in this letter.

逐节对照

交叉引用

The Message - In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.
新标点和合本 - 我为主被囚的劝你们：既然蒙召，行事为人就当与蒙召的恩相称。
和合本2010（上帝版-简体） - 我为主作囚徒的劝你们，既然蒙召，行事为人就要与你们所蒙的呼召相称。
和合本2010（神版-简体） - 我为主作囚徒的劝你们，既然蒙召，行事为人就要与你们所蒙的呼召相称。
当代译本 - 所以，我这为主被囚禁的劝你们，既然蒙了上帝的呼召，就要过与所蒙的呼召相称的生活。
圣经新译本 - 因此，我这为主被囚禁的劝你们：行事为人，要配得上你们所蒙的呼召，
中文标准译本 - 所以，我这个在主里的囚犯劝你们：行事为人要配得上你们所蒙的召唤，
现代标点和合本 - 我为主被囚的劝你们：既然蒙召，行事为人就当与蒙召的恩相称，
和合本（拼音版） - 我为主被囚的劝你们：既然蒙召，行事为人就当与蒙召的恩相称。
New International Version - As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
New International Reader's Version - I am a prisoner because of the Lord. So I am asking you to live a life worthy of what God chose you for.
English Standard Version - I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
New Living Translation - Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
Christian Standard Bible - Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received,
New American Standard Bible - Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
New King James Version - I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
Amplified Bible - So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior—a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation],
American Standard Version - I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called,
King James Version - I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
New English Translation - I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called,
World English Bible - I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
新標點和合本 - 我為主被囚的勸你們：既然蒙召，行事為人就當與蒙召的恩相稱。
和合本2010（上帝版-繁體） - 我為主作囚徒的勸你們，既然蒙召，行事為人就要與你們所蒙的呼召相稱。
和合本2010（神版-繁體） - 我為主作囚徒的勸你們，既然蒙召，行事為人就要與你們所蒙的呼召相稱。
當代譯本 - 所以，我這為主被囚禁的勸你們，既然蒙了上帝的呼召，就要過與所蒙的呼召相稱的生活。
聖經新譯本 - 因此，我這為主被囚禁的勸你們：行事為人，要配得上你們所蒙的呼召，
呂振中譯本 - 所以我為主的緣故做囚犯的勸你們、行事為人要對得起你們所蒙的呼召。
中文標準譯本 - 所以，我這個在主裡的囚犯勸你們：行事為人要配得上你們所蒙的召喚，
現代標點和合本 - 我為主被囚的勸你們：既然蒙召，行事為人就當與蒙召的恩相稱，
文理和合譯本 - 故我為主被囚者勸爾、所行宜稱乎所蒙之召、
文理委辦譯本 - 我為主被囚、勸爾行事、稱所蒙召之命、
施約瑟淺文理新舊約聖經 - 我為主被囚者勸爾、既蒙召、行事則當與蒙召之恩相稱、
吳經熊文理聖詠與新經全集 - 是故吾以因主被囚之身、剴切勸爾修身砥行、無忝爾之聖召、
Nueva Versión Internacional - Por eso yo, que estoy preso por la causa del Señor, les ruego que vivan de una manera digna del llamamiento que han recibido,
현대인의 성경 - 그러므로 주님을 위해 갇힌 나 바울이 권합니다. 여러분은 하나님의 부르심 을 받은 성도답게
Новый Русский Перевод - Я, находящийся в заключении ради Господа, умоляю вас: раз вы призваны Богом, то живите достойно вашего призвания.
Восточный перевод - Я, находящийся в заключении ради Повелителя, умоляю вас: раз вы призваны Всевышним, то живите достойно вашего призвания.
Восточный перевод, версия с «Аллахом» - Я, находящийся в заключении ради Повелителя, умоляю вас: раз вы призваны Аллахом, то живите достойно вашего призвания.
Восточный перевод, версия для Таджикистана - Я, находящийся в заключении ради Повелителя, умоляю вас: раз вы призваны Всевышним, то живите достойно вашего призвания.
La Bible du Semeur 2015 - Moi qui suis prisonnier à cause du Seigneur, je vous demande donc instamment de vous conduire d’une manière digne de l’appel qui vous a été adressé :
リビングバイブル - 主に仕えたために、今こうして牢獄につながれている私からお願いします。このようにすばらしい神の祝福を受けるために選ばれたあなたがたは、それにふさわしく生活し、行動してください。
Nestle Aland 28 - Παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς ἐγὼ ὁ δέσμιος ἐν κυρίῳ ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε,
unfoldingWord® Greek New Testament - παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς, ἐγὼ ὁ δέσμιος ἐν Κυρίῳ, ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε;
Nova Versão Internacional - Como prisioneiro no Senhor, rogo-lhes que vivam de maneira digna da vocação que receberam.
Hoffnung für alle - Ihr wisst, dass ich für den Herrn im Gefängnis bin. Als sein Gefangener bitte ich euch nun: Lebt so, dass Gott dadurch geehrt wird; er hat euch ja berufen, seine Kinder zu sein.
Kinh Thánh Hiện Đại - Vì thế, tôi, một người bị tù vì phục vụ Chúa, tôi nài xin anh chị em phải sống đúng theo tiêu chuẩn Đức Chúa Trời đã đặt khi Ngài tuyển chọn anh chị em làm con cái Ngài.
พระคริสตธรรมคัมภีร์ไทย ฉบับอมตธรรมร่วมสมัย - ฉะนั้นข้าพเจ้าผู้เป็นนักโทษเพื่อองค์พระผู้เป็นเจ้าจึงขอให้ท่านดำเนินชีวิตให้สมกับการทรงเรียกที่ท่านได้รับ
พระคัมภีร์ ฉบับแปลใหม่ - ฉะนั้น ข้าพเจ้าผู้เป็นนักโทษเนื่องจากการรับใช้พระผู้เป็นเจ้า ขอร้องให้ท่านดำเนินชีวิตให้สมกับที่พระองค์เรียกท่าน

Colossians 4:12 - Epaphras, who is one of you, says hello. What a trooper he has been! He’s been tireless in his prayers for you, praying that you’ll stand firm, mature and confident in everything God wants you to do. I’ve watched him closely, and can report on how hard he has worked for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
Jeremiah 38:20 - Jeremiah assured him, “They won’t get hold of you. Listen, please. Listen to God’s voice. I’m telling you this for your own good so that you’ll live. But if you refuse to turn yourself over, this is what God has shown me will happen: Picture this in your mind—all the women still left in the palace of the king of Judah, led out to the officers of the king of Babylon, and as they’re led out they are saying: “‘They lied to you and did you in, those so-called friends of yours; And now you’re stuck, about knee-deep in mud, and your “friends,” where are they now?’
2 Corinthians 10:1 - And now a personal but most urgent matter; I write in the gentle but firm spirit of Christ. I hear that I’m being painted as cringing and wishy-washy when I’m with you, but harsh and demanding when at a safe distance writing letters. Please don’t force me to take a hard line when I’m present with you. Don’t think that I’ll hesitate a single minute to stand up to those who say I’m an unprincipled opportunist. Then they’ll have to eat their words.
Acts 9:31 - Things calmed down after that and the church had smooth sailing for a while. All over the country—Judea, Samaria, Galilee—the church grew. They were permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God. The Holy Spirit was with them, strengthening them. They prospered wonderfully.
Philippians 3:17 - Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites.
Hebrews 3:1 - So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He’s the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do. Moses was also faithful, but Jesus gets far more honor. A builder is more valuable than a building any day. Every house has a builder, but the Builder behind them all is God. Moses did a good job in God’s house, but it was all servant work, getting things ready for what was to come. Christ as Son is in charge of the house.
Philemon 1:10 - While here in jail, I’ve fathered a child, so to speak. And here he is, hand-carrying this letter—Onesimus! He was useless to you before; now he’s useful to both of us. I’m sending him back to you, but it feels like I’m cutting off my right arm in doing so. I wanted in the worst way to keep him here as your stand-in to help out while I’m in jail for the Message. But I didn’t want to do anything behind your back, make you do a good deed that you hadn’t willingly agreed to.
Ephesians 4:4 - You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.
Romans 8:29 - God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.
Ephesians 4:17 - And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. They can’t think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion.
2 Corinthians 6:1 - Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don’t squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. God reminds us, I heard your call in the nick of time; The day you needed me, I was there to help. Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped. Don’t put it off; don’t frustrate God’s work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we’re doing. Our work as God’s servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly . . . in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we’re beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we’re telling the truth, and when God’s showing his power; when we’re doing our best setting things right; when we’re praised, and when we’re blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.
Colossians 2:6 - 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.
Galatians 4:12 - My dear friends, what I would really like you to do is try to put yourselves in my shoes to the same extent that I, when I was with you, put myself in yours. You were very sensitive and kind then. You did not come down on me personally. You were well aware that the reason I ended up preaching to you was that I was physically broken, and so, prevented from continuing my journey, I was forced to stop with you. That is how I came to preach to you.
1 Peter 2:11 - Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life in your neighborhood so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.
Ephesians 3:1 - This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you’re familiar with the part I was given in God’s plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief.
Genesis 5:24 - Enoch walked steadily with God. And then one day he was simply gone: God took him.
Romans 12:1 - So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
2 Thessalonians 1:11 - Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely.
Genesis 17:1 - When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God showed up and said to him, “I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt! I’ll make a covenant between us and I’ll give you a huge family.”
2 Peter 1:3 - Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.
1 Thessalonians 4:1 - One final word, friends. We ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life. Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity.
Philippians 1:27 - Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people’s trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they’re up against: defeat for them, victory for you—and both because of God. There’s far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There’s also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting. You’re involved in the same kind of struggle you saw me go through, on which you are now getting an updated report in this letter.