Now Timothy has come back, and he has brought us the welcome news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always think well of us and that you want to see us just as much as we want to see you.

I give thanks to God, whom I serve with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did. I thank him as I remember you always in my prayers night and day.

I remember the sincere faith you have, the kind of faith that your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice also had. I am sure that you have it also.

And there is another reason why we always give thanks to God. When we brought you God's message, you heard it and accepted it, not as a message from human beings but as God's message, which indeed it is. For God is at work in you who believe.

Our friends, the same things happened to you that happened to the churches of God in Judea, to the people there who belong to Christ Jesus. You suffered the same persecutions from your own people that they suffered from the Jews,

Do not work for food that spoils; instead, work for the food that lasts for eternal life. This is the food which the Son of Man will give you, because God, the Father, has put his mark of approval on him."

Jesus answered, "What God wants you to do is to believe in the one he sent."

Now, however, that truth has been brought out into the open through the writings of the prophets; and by the command of the eternal God it is made known to all nations, so that all may believe and obey.

So then, my dear friends, stand firm and steady. Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord's service is ever useless.

For when we are in union with Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the lack of it makes any difference at all; what matters is faith that works through love.

Our friends, we must thank God at all times for you. It is right for us to do so, because your faith is growing so much and the love each of you has for the others is becoming greater.

That is why we always pray for you. We ask our God to make you worthy of the life he has called you to live. May he fulfill by his power all your desire for goodness and complete your work of faith.

Let us, then, do our best to receive that rest, so that no one of us will fail as they did because of their lack of faith.

It was faith that made Noah hear God's warnings about things in the future that he could not see. He obeyed God and built a boat in which he and his family were saved. As a result, the world was condemned, and Noah received from God the righteousness that comes by faith.

It was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him to go out to a country which God had promised to give him. He left his own country without knowing where he was going.

It was faith that made Abraham offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice when God put Abraham to the test. Abraham was the one to whom God had made the promise, yet he was ready to offer his only son as a sacrifice.

It was faith that made Moses, when he had grown up, refuse to be called the son of the king's daughter.

He reckoned that to suffer scorn for the Messiah was worth far more than all the treasures of Egypt, for he kept his eyes on the future reward.

It was faith that made him establish the Passover and order the blood to be sprinkled on the doors, so that the Angel of Death would not kill the first-born sons of the Israelites.

It was faith that made the walls of Jericho fall down after the Israelites had marched around them for seven days.

Should I go on? There isn't enough time for me to speak of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.

put out fierce fires, escaped being killed by the sword. They were weak, but became strong; they were mighty in battle and defeated the armies of foreigners.

So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead.

Do you believe that there is only one God? Good! The demons also believe---and tremble with fear.

How was our ancestor Abraham put right with God? It was through his actions, when he offered his son Isaac on the altar.

And the scripture came true that said, "Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous." And so Abraham was called God's friend.

It was the same with the prostitute Rahab. She was put right with God through her actions, by welcoming the Israelite spies and helping them to escape by a different road.

I know what you do. I know your love, your faithfulness, your service, and your patience. I know that you are doing more now than you did at first.

Jacob worked seven years so that he could have Rachel, and the time seemed like only a few days to him, because he loved her.

Water cannot put it out; no flood can drown it. But if any tried to buy love with their wealth, contempt is all they would get.

"If you love me, you will obey my commandments.

"Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. My Father will love those who love me; I too will love them and reveal myself to them."

Jesus answered him, "Those who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and my Father and I will come to them and live with them.

If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.

After they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?" "Yes, Lord," he answered, "you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Take care of my lambs."

A third time Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter became sad because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" and so he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you!" Jesus said to him, "Take care of my sheep.

Greetings to Mary, who has worked so hard for you.

Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud;

love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth.

We are ruled by the love of Christ, now that we recognize that one man died for everyone, which means that they all share in his death.

He died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but only for him who died and was raised to life for their sake.

You are so rich in all you have: in faith, speech, and knowledge, in your eagerness to help and in your love for us. And so we want you to be generous also in this service of love.

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; rich as he was, he made himself poor for your sake, in order to make you rich by means of his poverty.

As for you, my friends, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another.

For I hear of your love for all of God's people and the faith you have in the Lord Jesus.

Your love, dear brother, has brought me great joy and much encouragement! You have cheered the hearts of all of God's people.

God is not unfair. He will not forget the work you did or the love you showed for him in the help you gave and are still giving to other Christians.

Our great desire is that each of you keep up your eagerness to the end, so that the things you hope for will come true.

My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.

For our love for God means that we obey his commands. And his commands are not too hard for us,

I know what you have done; I know how hard you have worked and how patient you have been. I know that you cannot tolerate evil people and that you have tested those who say they are apostles but are not, and have found out that they are liars.

But this is what I have against you: you do not love me now as you did at first.

Some people keep on doing good, and seek glory, honor, and immortal life; to them God will give eternal life.

We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance,

This hope does not disappoint us, for God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us.

For it was by hope that we were saved; but if we see what we hope for, then it is not really hope. For who of us hopes for something we see?

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times.

May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love.

So let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest.

Abraham was patient, and so he received what God had promised.

You need to be patient, in order to do the will of God and receive what he promises.

for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure.

Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Be patient, then, my friends, until the Lord comes. See how patient farmers are as they wait for their land to produce precious crops. They wait patiently for the autumn and spring rains.

You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord's coming is near.

Everyone who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure, just as Christ is pure.

Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you safe from the time of trouble which is coming upon the world to test all the people on earth.

God gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness to those who please him, but he makes sinners work, earning and saving, so that what they get can be given to those who please him. It is all useless. It is like chasing the wind.

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that he will forgive your sins. If you do,

and said: 'Cornelius! God has heard your prayer and has taken notice of your works of charity.

We are not like so many others, who handle God's message as if it were cheap merchandise; but because God has sent us, we speak with sincerity in his presence, as servants of Christ.

This is good and it pleases God our Savior,

(SEE 13:20)

Instead, your beauty should consist of your true inner self, the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of the greatest value in God's sight.

And so, my dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have courage in God's presence.