For everyone has sinned;
we all fall short of God‘s glorious standard.
Yet God, in his grace,
freely makes us right in his sight.
He did this through Christ Jesus
when he freed us from the penalty of our sins.
For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin.
People are made right with God
when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life,
shedding his blood…
Romans 3:23-25
But now God has shown us a way
to be made right with him
without keeping the requirements of the law,
as was promised in the writings of Moses
and the prophets long ago.
We are made right with God
by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.
And this is true for everyone who believes,
no matter who we are.
For ever since the world was created,
people have seen the earth and sky.
Through everything God made,
they can clearly see his invisible qualities—
his eternal power and divine nature.
So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
This Good News tells us how
God makes us right in his sight.
This is accomplished from start to finish by faith.
As the Scriptures say,
“It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
In the beginning the Word already existed.
the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
Now learn a lesson from the fig tree.
When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout,
you know that summer is near.
In the same way,
when you see all these things taking place,
you can know that his return is very near,
right at the door.
Don’t let him find you sleeping
when he arrives without warning.
I say to you what I say to everyone:
Watch for him!”
Jesus called a little child to him
and put the child among them.
Then he said,
“I tell you the truth,
unless you turn from your sins
and become like little children,
you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
This is what the LORD says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you what is good for you
and leads you along the paths you should follow.
Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
Then you would have had peace flowing
like a gentle river
and righteousness rolling over you like
waves in the sea.
About three o’clock in the morning
Jesus came toward them,
walking on the water.
When the disciples saw him walking on the water,
they were terrified.
In their fear, they cried out,
“It’s a ghost!”
But Jesus spoke to them at once.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said.
“Take courage, I am here!”
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure
that a man discovered hidden in a field.
In his excitement,
he hid it again and sold everything he owned
to get enough money to buy the field.
