Book of Common Prayer

¹⁶ My telling the good news is not something for me to be proud of. It is something I must do. Yes, it would be very, very wrong for me if I did not tell the good news.

¹⁷ If I do it because I want to do it, I get my pay. But if I do not want to do it, it is still my duty to do it.

¹⁸ So what is my pay? My pay is to tell the good news and not be paid for it! That is why I do not use my right to take pay for telling the good news.

¹⁹ Even though I am no one's slave, yet I have made myself a slave to everyone. I have done this so that I might win more people to Christ.

²⁰ When I was with the Jews, I lived like the Jews, so that I might win the Jews to Christ. I was not under the law. But I lived as if I was under the law of the Jews. I did this so that I might win to Christ those who are under the law.

²¹ When I was with those who do not have the law of the Jews, I lived as if I did not have the law of the Jews. I did this so that I might win them also. Of course, I myself have laws. I follow the laws of Christ.

²² When I was with weak people, I lived like a weak person. I did this so that I might win weak people to Christ. I lived like all kinds of people to save some of them.

²³ I do all this for the good news, so that I also will have some of its blessing.

²⁴ You know when people are running a race, they all run. But only one man will win. The way you should run is to run to win.

²⁵ Everyone who wants to show his strength must control himself in every way. They do it for a prize that will spoil. But what we do, we do for a reward that will never, never spoil.

²⁶ So I do not run as if I did not know where I was going. And I do not fight like a man just beating the air.

²⁷ But I control my own body really well. I make my body obey me. After telling others the good news, I myself do not want to be left out.

⁴⁷ In the evening the boat was far out on the water. Jesus was alone on the land.

⁴⁸ He saw the disciples working hard rowing the boat. The wind was blowing the wrong way. When it was almost morning, Jesus came to the disciples. He was walking on the water. He was going to pass by them.

⁴⁹ But when they saw him walking on the water, they thought it was a spirit. They shouted loudly.

⁵⁰ They all saw him and were very much afraid. He spoke to them right away. He said, `Be glad! It is I. Do not fear.'

⁵¹ Then he got in the boat with them. The wind stopped. They were very much surprised and did not know what to say.

⁵² They did not understand the lesson about the bread because their minds were too slow.

⁵³ They crossed over the sea and came to the land at Gennesaret. They came to shore.

⁵⁴ As soon as he got out of the boat, the people knew him.

⁵⁵ They went quickly to all the country around. They brought sick people in their beds to the place where they heard Jesus was.

⁵⁶ They laid sick people by the road in villages, towns, and farms and every place he went. They begged him to let them touch his clothes. And all the people who touched him were healed.