Finishing What You Start

being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

But now complete the doing also, that as there was the readiness to be willing, so there may be the completion also out of your ability.

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Wake up, and keep the things that remain, which you were about to throw away, for I have found no works of yours perfected before my God.

I give a judgment in this: for this is expedient for you, who were the first to start a year ago, not only to do, but also to be willing. — read the full passage →

I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? — read the full passage →

I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men,

Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love him.

The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished. — read the full passage →

Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

So the wall was finished in the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. — read the full passage →

But these things don’t count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify to the Good News of the grace of God.

I will hurry, and not delay, to obey your commandments.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, — read the full passage →

Longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools detest turning from evil.

Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.

For the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will make a full end, and that determined, in the midst of all the earth.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us. — read the full passage →

The elders of the Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.

My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.

Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, — read the full passage →

Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don’t give up.

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.

Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.

This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John,

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.

Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness,

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

for Demas left me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished.” He bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.

“Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.

For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure has come. — read the full passage →

for your partnership in furtherance of the Good News from the first day until now;

“For it is like a man, going into another country, who called his own servants, and entrusted his goods to them. — read the full passage →

But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.

Therefore don’t throw away your boldness, which has a great reward.

Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things.

In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!” He said, “Behold, it’s me, Lord.” — read the full passage →

“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of Yahweh honorable; and shall honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words: — read the full passage →

Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; — read the full passage →

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.

What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him? — read the full passage →

Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen. — read the full passage →

for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, — read the full passage →

After this, Jesus, seeing that all things were now finished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.” — read the full passage →

But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first, and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ — read the full passage →

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says Yahweh, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future.

You crown the year with your bounty. Your carts overflow with abundance.

In the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, I took up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad before in his presence. — read the full passage →

holding a form of godliness, but having denied its power. Turn away from these, also.

That good thing which was committed to you, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

for I know your readiness, of which I boast on your behalf to them of Macedonia, that Achaia has been prepared for a year past. Your zeal has stirred up very many of them.

For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

“You looked for much, and, behold, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says Yahweh of Armies, “Because of my house that lies waste, while each of you is busy with his own house. — read the full passage →

Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, — read the full passage →

But the righteous will live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” — read the full passage →

Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering into the Kingdom of God before you.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. — read the full passage →

The same came to him by night, and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.”

But now thus says Yahweh who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel: “Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine. — read the full passage →

But those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice. — read the full passage →

Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please let me go and return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.” Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” — read the full passage →

Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself.

Don’t you know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run like that, that you may win. — read the full passage →

But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first, and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’

Yahweh will fulfill that which concerns me; your loving kindness, Yahweh, endures forever. Don’t forsake the works of your own hands.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, — read the full passage →

Also, if anyone competes in athletics, he isn’t crowned unless he has competed by the rules.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you don’t have.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;

When therefore Pilate heard this saying, he was more afraid.

Jesus said these things, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you; — read the full passage →

and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News.”

Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, — read the full passage →

Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. — read the full passage →

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is heavy on men: — read the full passage →

To you, Yahweh, I call. My rock, don’t be deaf to me; lest, if you are silent to me, I would become like those who go down into the pit.

For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;