(I like your questions! Here are some Verses that tell it like it is!)
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction."Proverbs 1:7
John 3
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
1 There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus. He was one of the Jewish rulers. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. We know that God is with you. If he weren't, you couldn't do the miraculous signs you are doing."
3 Jesus replied, "What I'm about to tell you is true. No one can see God's kingdom without being born again."
4 "How can I be born when I am old?" Nicodemus asked. "I can't go back inside my mother! I can't be born a second time!"
5 Jesus answered, "What I'm about to tell you is true. No one can enter God's kingdom without being born through water and the Holy Spirit. 6 People give birth to people. But the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised when I say, 'You must all be born again.'
8 "The wind blows where it wants to. You hear the sound it makes. But you can't tell where it comes from or where it is going. It is the same with everyone who is born through the Spirit."
9 "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.
10 "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus. "Don't you understand these things?
11 "What I'm about to tell you is true. We speak about what we know. We give witness to what we have seen. But still you people do not accept our witness. 12 I have spoken to you about earthly things, and you do not believe. So how will you believe if I speak about heavenly things?
13 "No one has ever gone into heaven except the One who came from heaven. He is the Son of Man. 14 Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. The Son of Man must be lifted up also. 15 Then everyone who believes in him can live with God forever.
16 "God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
17 "God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world. He sent his Son to save the world through him. 18 Anyone who believes in him is not judged. But anyone who does not believe is judged already. He has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
19 "Here is the judgment. Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light. They loved darkness because what they did was evil.
20 "Everyone who does evil things hates the light. They will not come into the light. They are afraid that what they do will be seen. 21 But anyone who lives by the truth comes into the light. He does this so that it will be easy to see that what he has done is with God's help."
John 3:1-21
John 5
Jesus Heals a Disabled Man
1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a Jewish feast. 2 In Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate is a pool. In the Aramaic language it is called Bethesda. It is surrounded by five rows of columns with a roof over them. 3-4Here a great number of disabled people used to lie down. Among them were those who were blind, those who could not walk, and those who could hardly move.
5 One person who was there had been disabled for 38 years. 6 Jesus saw him lying there. He knew that the man had been in that condition for a long time. So he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
7 "Sir," the disabled man replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when an angel stirs the water up. I try to get in, but someone else always goes down ahead of me."
8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."
9 At once the man was healed. He picked up his mat and walked.
The day this happened was a Sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath. The law does not allow you to carry your mat."
11 But he replied, "The one who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' "
12 They asked him, "Who is this fellow? Who told you to pick it up and walk?"
13 The one who was healed had no idea who it was. Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14 Later Jesus found him at the temple. Jesus said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you." 15 The man went away. He told the Jews it was Jesus who had made him well.
Life Because of the Son
16 Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath day. So the Jews began to oppose him.
17 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always doing his work. He is working right up to this very day. I am working too."
18 For this reason the Jews tried even harder to kill him. Jesus was not only breaking the Sabbath. He was even calling God his own Father. He was making himself equal with God.
19 Jesus answered, "What I'm about to tell you is true. The Son can do nothing by himself. He can do only what he sees his Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does. 20 This is because the Father loves the Son. He shows him everything he does. Yes, you will be amazed! The Father will show him even greater things than these.
21 "The Father raises the dead and gives them life. In the same way, the Son gives life to anyone he wants to.
22 "Also, the Father does not judge anyone. He has given the Son the task of judging. 23 Then all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Those who do not honor the Son do not honor the Father, who sent him.
24 "What I'm about to tell you is true. Anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He will not be found guilty. He has crossed over from death to life.
25 "What I'm about to tell you is true. A time is coming for me to give life. In fact, it has already begun. The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. Those who hear it will live.
26 "The Father has life in himself. He has also allowed the Son to have life in himself. 27 And the Father has given him the authority to judge. This is because he is the Son of Man.
28 "Do not be amazed at this. A time is coming when all who are in the grave will hear his voice. 29 They will all come out of their graves. Those who have done good will rise and live again. Those who have done evil will rise and be found guilty.
30 "I can do nothing by myself. I judge only as I hear. And my judging is fair. I do not try to please myself. I try only to please the One who sent me.
Giving Witness About Jesus
31 "If I give witness about myself, it doesn't count. 32 There is someone else who gives witness in my favor. And I know that his witness about me counts.
33 "You have sent people to John. He has given witness to the truth. 34 I do not accept human witness. I only talk about it so you can be saved. 35 John was like a lamp that burned and gave light. For a while you chose to enjoy his light.
36 "The witness I have is more important than John's. I am doing the very work the Father gave me to finish. It gives witness that the Father has sent me.
37 "The Father who sent me has himself given witness about me. You have never heard his voice. You have never seen what he really looks like. 38 And his word does not live in you. This is because you do not believe the One he sent.
39 "You study the Scriptures carefully. You study them because you think they will give you eternal life. The Scriptures you study give witness about me. 40 But you refuse to come to me and receive life.
41 "I do not accept praise from people. 42 But I know you. I know that you do not have love for God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me. But if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.
44 "You accept praise from one another. But you make no effort to receive the praise that comes from the only God. So how can you believe?
45 "Do not think I will bring charges against you in front of the Father. Moses is the one who does that. And he is the one you build your hopes on.
46 "Do you believe Moses? Then you should believe me. He wrote about me. 47 But you do not believe what he wrote. So how are you going to believe what I say?" John 5:1-47
John 6
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. It is also called the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A large crowd of people followed him. They had seen the miraculous signs he had done on those who were sick.
3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside. There he sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Feast was near.
5 Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him. So he said to Philip, "Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?" 6 He asked this only to put Philip to the test. He already knew what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, "Eight months' pay would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"
8 Another of his disciples spoke up. It was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 9 He said, "Here is a boy with five small loaves of barley bread. He also has two small fish. But how far will that go in such a large crowd?"
10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down. The number of men among them was about 5,000.
11 Then Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks. He handed out the bread to those who were seated. He gave them as much as they wanted. And he did the same with the fish.
12 When all of them had enough to eat, Jesus spoke to his disciples. "Gather the leftover pieces," he said. "Don't waste anything."
13 So they gathered what was left over from the five barley loaves. They filled 12 baskets with the pieces left by those who had eaten.
14 The people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did. Then they began to say, "This must be the Prophet who is supposed to come into the world." 15 But Jesus knew that they planned to come and force him to be their king. So he went away again to a mountain by himself.
Jesus Walks on the Water
16 When evening came, Jesus' disciples went down to the Sea of Galilee. 17 There they got into a boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum. By now it was dark. Jesus had not yet joined them.
18 A strong wind was blowing, and the water became rough. 19 They rowed three or three and a half miles. Then they saw Jesus coming toward the boat. He was walking on the water. They were terrified.
20 But he said to them, "It is I. Don't be afraid."
21 Then they agreed to take him into the boat. Right away the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the lake realized something. They saw that only one boat had been there. They knew that Jesus had not gotten into it with his disciples. And they knew that the disciples had gone away alone.
23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed. It was near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord gave thanks. 24 The crowd realized that Jesus and his disciples were not there. So they got into boats and went to Capernaum to look for Jesus.
Jesus Is the Bread of Life
25 They found him on the other side of the lake. They asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"
26 Jesus answered, "What I'm about to tell you is true. You are not looking for me because you saw miraculous signs. You are looking for me because you ate the loaves until you were full. 27 Do not work for food that spoils. Work for food that lasts forever. That is the food the Son of Man will give you. God the Father has put his seal of approval on him."
28 Then they asked him, "What does God want from us? What works does he want us to do?"
29 Jesus answered, "God's work is to believe in the One he has sent."
30 So they asked him, "What miraculous sign will you give us? What will you do so we can see it and believe you? 31 Long ago our people ate the manna in the desert. It is written in Scripture, 'The Lord gave them bread from heaven to eat.' "(Exodus 16:4; Nehemiah 9:15; Psalm 78:24,25)
32 Jesus said to them, "What I'm about to tell you is true. It is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven. It is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 The bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven. He gives life to the world."
34 "Sir," they said, "give us this bread from now on."
35 Then Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever go hungry. And no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty.
36 "But it is just as I told you. You have seen me, and you still do not believe. 37 Everyone the Father gives me will come to me. I will never send away anyone who comes to me.
38 "I have not come down from heaven to do what I want to do. I have come to do what the One who sent me wants me to do. 39 The One who sent me doesn't want me to lose anyone he has given me. He wants me to raise them up on the last day. 40 My Father wants all who look to the Son and believe in him to have eternal life. I will raise them up on the last day."
41 Then the Jews began to complain about Jesus. That was because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42 They said, "Isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph? Don't we know his father and mother? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"
43 "Stop complaining among yourselves," Jesus answered. 44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me brings him. Then I will raise him up on the last day.
45 "It is written in the Prophets, 'God will teach all of them.'(Isaiah 54:13) Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.
46 "No one has seen the Father except the One who has come from God. Only he has seen the Father. 47 What I'm about to tell you is true. Everyone who believes has life forever.
48 "I am the bread of life. 49 Long ago your people ate the manna in the desert, and they still died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven. A person can eat it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Everyone who eats some of this bread will live forever. The bread is my body. I will give it for the life of the world."
52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves. They said, "How can this man give us his body to eat?"
53 Jesus said to them, "What I'm about to tell you is true. You must eat the Son of Man's body and drink his blood. If you don't, you have no life in you. 54 Anyone who eats my body and drinks my blood has eternal life. I will raise him up on the last day.
55 "My body is real food. My blood is real drink. 56 Anyone who eats my body and drinks my blood remains in me. And I remain in him.
57 "The living Father sent me, and I live because of him. In the same way, those who feed on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Long ago your people ate manna and died. But those who feed on this bread will live forever."
59 He said this while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Many Disciples Leave Jesus
60 Jesus' disciples heard this. Many of them said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"
61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining about his teaching. So he said to them, "Does this upset you? 62 What if you see the Son of Man go up to where he was before? 63 The Holy Spirit gives life. The body means nothing at all. The words I have spoken to you are from the Spirit. They give life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe."
Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe. And he had known who was going to hand him over to his enemies. 65 So he continued speaking. He said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father helps him."
66 From this time on, many of his disciples turned back. They no longer followed him.
67 "You don't want to leave also, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, who can we go to? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
70 Then Jesus replied, "Didn't I choose you, the 12 disciples? But one of you is a devil!" 71 He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Judas was one of the Twelve. But later he was going to hand Jesus over to his enemies.
John 6:1-71
Romans 1
1 I, Paul, am writing this letter. I serve Christ Jesus. I have been appointed to be an apostle. God set me apart to tell others his good news. 2 He promised the good news long ago. He announced it through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.
3 The good news is about God's Son. As a human being, the Son of God belonged to King David's family line. 4 By the power of the Holy Spirit, he was appointed to be the mighty Son of God because he rose from the dead. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.
5 I received God's grace because of what Jesus did so that I could bring glory to him. He made me an apostle to all those who aren't Jews. I must invite them to have faith in God and obey him. 6 You also are among those who are appointed to belong to Jesus Christ.
7 I am sending this letter to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and appointed to be his people.
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Paul Longs to Visit Rome
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you. People all over the world are talking about your faith. 9 I serve God with my whole heart. I preach the good news about his Son. God knows that I always remember you 10 in my prayers. I pray that now at last it may be God's plan to open the way for me to visit you.
11 I long to see you. I want to make you strong by giving you a gift from the Holy Spirit. 12 I want us to cheer each other up by sharing our faith.
13 Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that I planned many times to visit you. But until now I have been kept from coming. My work has produced results among others who are not Jews. In the same way, I want to see results among you.
14 I have a duty both to Greeks and to non-Greeks. I have a duty both to wise people and to foolish people. 15 So I really want to preach the good news also to you who live in Rome.
16 I am not ashamed of the good news. It is God's power. And it will save everyone who believes. It is meant first for the Jews. It is meant also for those who aren't Jews.
17 The good news shows how God makes people right with himself. From beginning to end, becoming right with God depends on a person's faith. It is written, "Those who are right with God will live by faith."(Habakkuk 2:4)
God's Anger Against Sinners
18 God shows his anger from heaven. It is against all the godless and evil things people do. They are so evil that they say no to the truth. 19 The truth about God is plain to them. God has made it plain.
20 Ever since the world was created it has been possible to see the qualities of God that are not seen. I'm talking about his eternal power and about the fact that he is God. Those things can be seen in what he has made. So people have no excuse for what they do.
21 They knew God. But they didn't honor him as God. They didn't thank him. Their thinking became worthless. Their foolish hearts became dark. 22 They claimed to be wise. But they made fools of themselves. 23 They would rather have statues of gods than the glorious God who lives forever. Their statues of gods are made to look like people, birds, animals and reptiles.
24 So God let them go. He allowed them to do what their sinful hearts wanted to. He let them commit sexual sins. They polluted one another's bodies by what they did.
25 They chose a lie instead of God's truth. They worshiped and served created things. They didn't worship the Creator. But he must be praised forever. Amen.
26 So God let them go. They were filled with shameful longings. Their women committed sexual acts that were not natural. 27 In the same way, the men turned away from their natural love for women. They burned with sexual longing for each other. Men did shameful things with other men. They suffered in their bodies for all the twisted things they did.
28 They didn't think it was important to know God. So God let them go. He allowed them to have dirty minds. They did things they shouldn't do.
29 They are full of every kind of sin, evil and ungodliness. They want more than they need. They commit murder. They want what belongs to other people. They fight and cheat. They hate others. They say mean things about other people. 30 They tell lies about them. They hate God. They are rude and proud. They brag. They think of new ways to do evil. They don't obey their parents. 31 They are foolish. They can't be trusted. They are not loving and kind.
32 They know that God's commands are right. They know that those who do evil things should die. But they continue to do those very things. They also approve of others who do them.
Romans 1:1-32
Romans 10
1 Brothers and sisters, with all my heart I long for the people of Israel to be saved. I pray to God for them. 2 I can give witness about them that they really want to serve God. But how they are trying to do it is not based on what they know.
3 They didn't know how God makes people right with himself. They tried to get right with God in their own way. They didn't do it in God's way.
4 Christ has completed the law. So now everyone who believes can be right with God.
5 Moses explained how the law could help a person do what God requires. He said, "The one who does those things will live by them."(Leviticus 18:5)
6 But the way to do what God requires must begin by having faith in him. Scripture says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will go up into heaven?' "(Deuteronomy 30:12) That means to go up into heaven and bring Christ down. 7 "And do not say, 'Who will go down into the grave?' "(Deuteronomy 30:13) That means to bring Christ up from the dead.
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you. It's in your mouth and in your heart."(Deuteronomy 30:14) That means the word we are preaching. You must put your faith in it.
9 Say with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord." Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved. 10 With your heart you believe and are made right with God. With your mouth you say that Jesus is Lord. And so you are saved. 11 Scripture says, "The one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."(Isaiah 28:16)
12 There is no difference between those who are Jews and those who are not. The same Lord is Lord of all. He richly blesses everyone who calls on him. 13 Scripture says, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."(Joel 2:32)
14 How can they call on him unless they believe in him? How can they believe in him unless they hear about him? How can they hear about him unless someone preaches to them? 15 And how can anyone preach without being sent? It is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"(Isaiah 52:7)
16 But not all the people of Israel accepted the good news. Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?"(Isaiah 53:1) 17 So faith comes from hearing the message. And the message that is heard is the word of Christ.
18 But I ask, "Didn't the people of Israel hear?" Of course they did. It is written,
"Their voice has gone out into the whole earth.
Their words have gone out from one end of the world to the other." (Psalm 19:4)
19 Again I ask, "Didn't Israel understand?" First, Moses says,
"I will use people who are not a nation to make you jealous.
I will use a nation that has no understanding to make you angry." (Deuteronomy 32:21)
20 Then Isaiah boldly speaks about what God says. God said,
"I was found by those who were not trying to find me.
I made myself known to those who were not asking for me." (Isaiah 65:1) 21 But Isaiah also speaks about what God says concerning Israel. God said,
"All day long I have held out my hands.
I have held them out to a stubborn people who do not obey me." (Isaiah 65:2)
Romans 10:1-21
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