Psalms 23.
The Lord is my shepherd,
I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
For you are with me.
Your rod and your staff,
They comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil,
My cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Isaiah 26.
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah.
We have a strong city.
God makes salvation its walls and ramparts.
Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter.
The nation that keeps faith.
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast.
Because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
For the Lord,
The Lord himself,
Is the Rock Eternal.
He humbles those who dwell on high.
He lays the lofty city low.
He levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust.
Feet trample it down.
The feet of the oppressed,
The footsteps of the poor.
The path of the righteous is level.
You,
The upright one,
Make the way of the righteous smooth.
Yes,
Lord,
Walking in the way of your laws,
We wait for you.
Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.
My soul yearns for you in the night.
In the morning,
My spirit longs for you.
When your judgments come upon the earth,
The people of the world learn righteousness.
But when grace is shown to the wicked,
They do not learn righteousness.
Even in a land of uprightness,
They go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the Lord.
Lord,
Your hand is lifted high.
But they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame.
Let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.
Lord,
You establish peace for us.
All that we have accomplished you have done for us.
Lord our God,
Other lords besides you have ruled over us,
But your name alone do we honor.
They are now dead.
They live no more.
Their spirits do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin.
You wiped out all memory of them.
You have enlarged the nation,
Lord.
You have enlarged the nation.
You have gained glory for yourself.
You have extended all the borders of the land.
Lord,
They came to you in their distress.
When you disciplined them,
They could barely whisper a prayer.
As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain,
So were we in your presence,
Lord.
We were with child,
We writhed in labor,
But we gave birth to wind.
We have not brought salvation to the earth,
And the people of the world have not come to life.
But your dead will live,
Lord.
Their bodies will rise.
Let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy.
Your dew is like the dew of the morning.
The earth will give birth to her dead.
Go,
My people.
Enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you.
Hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by.
See,
The Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood shed on it.
The earth will conceal its slain no longer.
Matthew 11.
After Jesus had finished instructing his 12 disciples,
He went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
When John,
Who was in prison,
Heard about the deeds of the Messiah.
He sent His disciples to ask Him.
Are you the one who is to come?
Or should we expect someone else?
Jesus replied.
Go back and report to John what you hear and see.
The blind receive sight,
The lame walk.
Those who have leprosy are cleansed,
The deaf hear,
The dead are raised,
And the good news is proclaimed to the poor.
Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Me.
As John's disciples were leaving,
Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John.
What did you go out into the wilderness to see?
A reed swayed by the wind?
If not,
What did you go out to see?
A man dressed in fine clothes?
No,
Those who wear fine clothes are in king's palaces.
Then what did you go out to see?
A prophet?
Yes,
I tell you.
And more than a prophet,
This is the one about whom it is written.
I will send my messenger ahead of you,
Who will prepare your way before you.
Truly,
I tell you,
Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.
Yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
From the days of John the Baptist until now.
The kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence,
And violent people have been raiding it.
For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
And if you are willing to accept it,
He is the Elijah who was to come.
Whoever has ears.
Bet them here.
To what can I compare this generation.
They are like children,
Sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others.
We played the pipe for you,
And you did not dance.
We sang a dirge,
And you did not mourn.
For John came neither eating nor drinking,
And they say he has a demon.
The Son of Man came eating and drinking.
And they say,
Here is a glutton and a drunkard,
A friend of tax collectors and sinners.
But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.
Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed.
Because they did not repent.
Woe to you,
Chorazin!
Woe to you,
Bethsaida!
For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon,
They would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
But I tell you,
It will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the Day of Judgment than for you.
And you,
Capernaum,
Will you be lifted to the heavens?
No,
You will go down to Hades.
For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom,
It would have remained to this day.
But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the Day of Judgment than for you.
At that time,
Jesus said,
I praise you,
Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
Because you have hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children.
Yes,
Father,
For this is what you were pleased to do.
All things have been committed to me by my father.
No one knows the son except the father,
And no one knows the father except the son and those to whom the son chooses to reveal him.
Come to me.
All you who are weary and burdened,
And I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
For I am gentle and humble in heart,
And you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy,
And my burden is light.
Psalms 91.
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord,
He is my refuge and my fortress,
My God in whom I trust.
Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
And under his wings you will find refuge.
His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
Nor the arrow that flies by day,
Nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
Nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
Ten thousand at your right hand,
But it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
John 16.
All this I have told you so that you will not fall away.
They will put you out of the synagogue.
In fact,
The time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.
They will do such things because they have not known the Father or Me.
I have told you this,
So that when their time comes,
You will remember that I warned you about them.
I did not tell you this from the beginning,
Because I was with you,
But now I am going to him who sent me.
None of you asks me,
Where are you going?
Rather,
You are filled with grief because I have said these things.
But very truly I tell you,
It is for your good that I am going away.
Unless I go away,
The Advocate will not come to you.
But if I go,
I will send him to you.
When he comes,
He will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.
About sin because people do not believe in me.
About righteousness,
Because I am going to the Father,
Where you can see me no longer.
And about judgment,
Because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
I have much more to say to you,
More than you can now bear.
But when He,
The Spirit of Truth,
Comes,
He will guide you into all the truth.
He will not speak on his own.
He will speak only what he hears,
And he will tell you what is yet to come.
He will glorify me,
Because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.
All that belongs to the Father is mine.
That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.
Jesus went on to say,
A little while you will see me no more,
And then after a little while you will see me.
" At this some of his disciples said to one another,
What does he mean by saying,
In a little while you will see me no more,
And then after a little while you will see me?
And because I am going to the Father.
They kept asking.
What does he mean by a little while?
We don't understand what he is saying.
Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this,
So he said to them,
Are you asking one another what I meant when I said,
In a little while you will see me no more,
And then after a little while you will see me?
Very truly,
I tell you.
You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices.
You will grieve,
But your grief will turn to joy.
A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come.
But when her baby is born,
She forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.
So with you.
Now is your time of grief.
But I will see you again,
And you will rejoice.
And no one will take away your joy.
In that day,
You will no longer ask me anything.
Very truly,
I tell you,
My father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
Until now,
You have not asked for anything in my name.
Ask and you will receive,
And your joy will be complete.
Though I have been speaking figuratively,
A time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my father.
In that day,
You will ask in my name.
I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf.
No,
The Father himself loves you,
Because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
I came from the Father and entered the world.
Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.
Then Jesus' disciples said,
Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech.
Now we can see that you know all things,
And that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions.
This makes us believe that you came from God.
Do you now believe?
Jesus replied.
A time is coming,
And in fact has come,
When you will be scattered,
Each to your own home.
You will leave me all alone.
Yet I am not alone,
For my Father is with me.
I have told you these things.
So that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart.
I have overcome the world.
Philippians 4 Therefore,
My brothers and sisters,
You whom I love and long for,
My joy and crown,
Stand firm in the Lord in this way,
Dear friends.
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Sintisi to be of the same mind in the Lord.
Yes,
And I ask you,
My true companion,
Help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel,
Along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers,
Whose names are in Book of Life.
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again.
Rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all.
The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything.
But in every situation,
By prayer and petition,
With thanksgiving,
Present your requests to God.
The peace of God which transcends all understanding.
Will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally,
Brothers and sisters,
Concern for me.
Indeed,
You were concerned,
But you had no opportunity to show it.
I am not saying this because I am in need,
For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
I know what it is to be in need,
And I know what it is to have plenty.
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
Whether well-fed or hungry,
Whether living in plenty or in want.
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.
Moreover,
As you Philippians know,
In the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel,
When I set out from Macedonia,
Not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving.
Except you only.
For even when I was in Thessalonica,
You sent me aid more than once when I was in need.
Not that I desire your gifts.
What I desire is that more be credited to your account.
I have received full payment and have more than enough.
I am amply supplied now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent.
They are a fragrant offering,
An acceptable sacrifice,
Pleasing to God.
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
To our God and Father be glory forever and ever.
Greet all God's people in Christ Jesus.
The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings.
All God's people here send you greetings,
Especially those who belong to Caesar's household.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Amen.
Hebrews 4.
Therefore,
Since the promise of entering his rest still stands,
Let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us,
Just as they did.
But the message they heard was of no value to them.
Because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.
Now we who have believed enter that rest,
Just as God has said.
So I declared on oath in my anger,
They shall never enter my rest.
And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world.
For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words.
On the seventh day,
God rested from all his works.
And again in the passage above,
He says.
.
.
They shall never enter my rest.
Therefore,
Since it still remains for some to enter that rest,
And since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience,
God again set a certain day,
Calling it today.
This he did when a long time later he spoke through David,
As in the passage already quoted.
Make every effort to enter that rest,
So that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.
For the Word of God is alive and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword,
It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit,
Joints and marrow.
It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Therefore,
Since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,
Jesus the Son of God,
God,
Let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses.
But we have one who has been tempted in every way,
Just as we are,
Yet he did not sin.
Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence,
So that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Proverbs 3 My son,
Do not forget my teaching.
But keep my commands in your heart,
For they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.
Let love and faithfulness never leave you.
Bind them around your neck.
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways,
Submit to Him.
And He will make your path straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes.
Fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
Honor the Lord with your wealth,
With the first fruits of all your crops.
Then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
And your vats will brim over with new wine.
My son,
Do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuke,
Because the Lord disciplines those he loves as a father the son he delights in.
Blessed are those who find wisdom,
Those who gain understanding,
For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.
She is more precious than rubies.
Nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right.
Hand.
In her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are pleasant ways,
And all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her.
Those who hold her fast will be blessed.
By wisdom,
The Lord laid the earth's foundations.
By understanding,
He set the heavens in place.
By his knowledge,
The watery depths were divided,
And the clouds let drop the dew.
My son,
Do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight.
Preserve sound judgment and discretion.
They will be life for you,
An ornament to grace your neck.
Then you will go on your way in safety,
And your foot will not stumble.
When you lie down,
You will not be afraid.
When you lie down,
Your sleep will be sweet.
Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
For the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to act.
Do not say to your neighbor,
Come back tomorrow and I'll give it to you.
When you already have it with you.
Do not plot harm against your neighbor,
Who lives trustfully near you.
Do not accuse anyone for no reason.
When they have done you no harm.
Do not envy the violent,
Or choose any of their ways.
For the Lord detests the perverse,
But takes the upright into his confidence.
The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked,
But he blesses the home of the righteous.
He mocks proud mockers,
But shows favor to the humble and oppressed.
The wise inherit honor,
But fools get only shame.
Psalm 62.
Truly,
My soul finds rest in God.
My salvation comes from Him.
Truly,
He is my rock and my salvation.
He is my fortress,
I will never be shaken.
How long will you assault me?
Would all of you throw me down?
This leaning wall,
This tottering fence.
Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place.
They take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
But in their hearts they curse.
Yes,
My soul,
Find rest in God.
My hope comes from Him.
Truly,
He is my rock and my salvation.
He is my fortress,
I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God.
He is my mighty rock,
My refuge.
Trust in him at all times,
You people.
Pour out your hearts to Him.
For God is our refuge.
Surely the low-born are but a breath.
The high-born are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance,
They are nothing.
Together they are only a breath.
Do not trust in extortion,
Or put vain hope in stolen goods.
Though your riches increase,
Do not set your heart on them.
One thing God has spoken,
Two things I have heard.
Power belongs to you,
God,
And with you,
Lord,
Is unfailing love.
You reward everyone according to what they have done.
Romans 8.
For what the law was powerless to do,
Because it was weakened by the flesh,
God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.
Of the law might be fully met in us,
Who do not live according to the flesh,
But according to the Spirit.
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires,
But those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
The mind governed by the flesh is death,
But the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God.
It does not submit to God's law,
Nor can it do so.
Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
You,
However,
Are not in the realm of the flesh,
But are in the realm of the Spirit,
If indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.
And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,
They do not belong to Christ.
But if Christ is in you,
Then even though your body is subject to death because of sin,
The Spirit gives life because of righteousness.
And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you.
He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
Therefore,
Brothers and sisters,
We have an obligation.
But it is not to the flesh to live according to it.
For if you live according to the flesh,
You will die.
But if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body,
You will live.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
Co-heirs with Christ,
If indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
For the creation was subjected to frustration.
Not by its own choice,
But by the will of the one who subjected it,
In hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Not only so,
But we ourselves,
Who have the first fruits of the Spirit,
Groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to Sonship,
The redemption of our bodies.
For in this hope we were saved.
But hope that is seen is no hope at all.
Who hopes for what they already have.
But if we hope for what we do not yet have,
We wait for it patiently.
In the same way,
The Spirit helps us in our weakness.
We do not know what we ought to pray for,
But the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit,
Because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God.
And we know that in all things,
God works for the good of those who love him,
Who have been called according to his purpose.
And those God foreknew,
He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son,
That He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
And those He predestined,
He also called.
Those He called,
He also justified.
Those he justified he also glorified.
What then shall we say in response to these things?
If God is for us,
Who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all,
How will he not also,
Along with him,
Graciously give us all things?
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen.
It is God who justifies.
Who then is the one who condemns?
Christ Jesus who died.
More than that who was raised to life.
Is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ.
Shall trouble,
Or hardship,
Or persecution,
Or famine,
Or nakedness,
Or danger,
Or sword.
As it is written.
For your sake we face death all day long.
We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
No,
In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
Neither angels nor demons,
Neither the present nor the future,
Nor any powers,
Neither height nor depth.
Nor anything else in all creation.
Will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Isaiah 40.
Comfort,
Comfort my people,
Says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed,
That her sin has been paid for,
That she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins,
A voice of one calling.
Up,
Every mountain and hill made low.
The rough ground shall become level,
The rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
A voice says,
Cry out.
And I said.
.
.
What shall I cry?
All people are like grass,
And all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers,
And the flowers fall,
Because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers,
And the flowers fall,
But the word of our God endures forever.
You who bring good news to Zion,
Go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
Lift up your voice with a shout.
Lift it up.
Do not be afraid.
Say to the towns of Judah,
Here is your God.
See,
The sovereign Lord comes with power,
And he rules with a mighty arm.
See,
His reward is with him,
And his recompense accompanies him.
He tends his flock like a shepherd.
He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart.
He gently leads those that have young.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
Or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens,
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
Or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance.
Who can fathom the spirit of the Lord,
Or instruct the Lord as his counselor.
Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
And who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
Or showed him the path of understanding?
Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket.
They are regarded as dust on the scales.
He weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
Lebanon is not sufficient for altifiers,
Nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
Before him all the nations are as nothing.
They are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.
With whom,
Then,
Will you compare God?
To what image will you liken Him?
As for an idol,
A metal worker casts it,
And a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it.
A person too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot.
They look for a skilled worker to set up an idol that will not topple.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
He brings princes to nought and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
No sooner are they planted,
No sooner are they sown.
Do they take root in the ground.
Then he blows on them,
And they wither,
And a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?
Says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens.
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
And calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
Not one of them is missing.
Why do you complain,
Jacob?
Why do you say,
Israel,
My way is hidden from the Lord?
My cause is disregarded by my God.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
The creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
And his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
And young men stumble and fall.
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not be faint.
2 Corinthians 12 I must go on boasting.
Although there is nothing to be gained.
I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.
I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago was caught up to the third heaven.
Whether it was in the body or out of the body,
I do not know.
God knows.
And I know that this man,
Whether in the body or apart from the body,
I do not know.
But God knows,
Was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things,
Things that no one is permitted to tell.
I will boast about a man like that.
But I will not boast about myself.
Except about my weaknesses.
Even if I should choose to boast,
I would not be a fool,
Because I would be speaking the truth.
But I refrain,
So no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say,
Or because of these surpassingly great revelations.
Therefore,
In order to keep me from becoming conceited,
I was given a thorn in my flesh,
A messenger of Satan,
To torment me.
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me,
But he said to me,
My grace is sufficient for you,
For my power is made perfect in weakness.
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,
So that Christ's power may rest on me.
That is why,
For Christ's sake,
I delight in weaknesses,
In insults,
In hardships,
In persecutions,
In difficulties.
For when I am weak,
Then I am strong.
I have made a fool of myself,
But you drove me to it.
I ought to have been commended by you,
For I am not in the least inferior to the super-apostles,
Even though I am nothing.
I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle,
Including signs,
Wonders,
And miracles.
How were you inferior to the other churches?
Except that I was never a burden to you.
Forgive me this wrong.
Now I am ready to visit you for the third time,
And I will not be a burden to you,
Because what I want is not your possessions,
But you.
After all,
Children should not have to save up for their parents,
Their children.
So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well.
If I love you more,
Will you love me less?
Be that as it may,
I have not been a burden to you.
Yet crafty fellow that I am,
I caught you by trickery.
Did I exploit you through any of the men I sent to you?
I urged Titus to go to you,
And I sent our brother with him.
Titus did not exploit you,
Did he?
Did we not walk in the same footsteps by the same spirit?
Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you?
We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ.
And everything we do,
Dear friends,
Is for your strengthening.
For I am afraid that when I come,
I may not find you as I want you to be.
And you may not find me as you want me to be.
I fear that there may be discord,
Jealousy,
Fits of rage,
Selfish ambition,
Slander,
Gossip,
Arrogance and disorder.
I am afraid that when I come again,
My God will humble me before you,
And I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity,
Sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.
Psalms 27.
The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life.
Of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked advance against me to devour me.
It is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me,
My heart will not fear.
Though war break out against me,
Even then I will be confident.
One thing I ask from the Lord,
This only do I seek.
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
To gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling.
He will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.
Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me.
At his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy.
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
Hear my voice when I call,
Lord.
Be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you,
Seek his face.
Your face,
Lord,
I will see.
Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger.
You have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
God my Saviour.
Though my father and mother forsake me,
The Lord will receive me.
Teach me your way,
Lord.
Lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
For false witnesses rise up against me,
Spouting malicious accusations.
I remain confident of this.
I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord.
Be strong and take heart.
And wait for the Lord.
Lamentations 3 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the Lord's wrath.
He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light.
Indeed,
He has turned his hand against me again and again all day long.
He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones.
He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead.
He has walled me in so I cannot escape.
He has weighed me down with chains.
Even when I call out or cry for help,
He shuts out my prayer.
He has barred my way with blocks of stone.
He has made my paths crooked.
Like a bear lying in wait,
Like a lion in hiding,
He dragged me from the path and mangled me and left me without help.
He drew his bow and made me the target for his arrows.
He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver.
I became the laughing stock of all my people.
They mock me in song all day long.
He has filled me with bitter herbs and given me gall to drink.
He has broken my teeth with gravel.
He has trampled me in the dust.
I have been deprived of peace.
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
So I say,
Morning,
Great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself,
The Lord is my portion,
Therefore I will wait for him.
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him.
To the one who seeks him.
It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.
Let him sit alone in silence,
For the Lord has laid it on him.
Let him bury his face in the dust.
There may yet be hope.
Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him.
And let him be filled with disgrace.
For no one is cast off by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief,
He will show compassion,
So great is his unfailing love.
For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone,
To crush underfoot all prisoners in the land,
To deny people their rights before the Most High.
To deprive them of justice.
Would not the Lord see such things?
Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?
Why should the living complain when punished for their sins?
Let us examine our ways and test them and let us return to the Lord.
Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven and say,
We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven.
You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us.
You have slain without pity.
You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through.
You have made us scum and refuse among the nations.
All our enemies have opened their mouths wide against us.
We have suffered terror and pitfalls,
Ruin and destruction.
Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed.
My eyes will flow unceasingly,
Without relief,
Until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees.
What I see brings grief to my soul because of all the women of my city.
Those who were my enemies without cause hunted me like a bird.
They tried to end my life in a pit and threw stones at me.
The waters closed over my head,
And I thought I was about to perish.
I called on your name,
Lord,
From the depths of the pit.
You heard my plea.
Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.
You came near when I called you,
And you said,
Do not fear.
You,
Lord,
Took up my case.
You redeemed my life.
Lord,
You have seen the wrong done to me.
Uphold my cause.
You have seen the depth of their vengeance,
All their plots against me.
Lord,
You have heard their insults,
All their plots against me,
What my enemies whisper and mutter against me all day long.
Look at them.
Sitting or standing,
They mock me in their songs.
Pay them back what they deserve,
Lord.
For what their hands have done.
Put a veil over their hearts,
And may your curse be on them.
Pursue them in anger,
And destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord.
John 14.
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You believe in God.
Believe also in me.
My father's house has many rooms.
If that were not so,
Would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and take you to be with me,
That you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.
Thomas said to him,
Lord,
We don't know where you are going,
So how can we know the way?
Jesus answered,
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the father except through me.
If you really know me,
You will know my father as well.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said,
Lord,
Show us the Father and that will be enough for us.
Jesus answered.
Don't you know me,
Philip,
Even after I have been among you such a long time?
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the father?
Don't you believe that I am in the Father,
And that the Father is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority.
Rather,
It is the Father living in me who is doing his work.
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
Or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.
Very truly,
I tell you,
Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing,
And they will do even greater things than these.
Because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name.
So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
You may ask me for anything in my name.
And I will do it.
If you love me,
Keep my commands.
And I will ask the Father.
And he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever.
The Spirit of Truth.
The world cannot accept him,
Because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you know him,
For he lives with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
Before long,
The world will not see me anymore.
But you will see me.
Because I live,
You also will live.
On that day,
You will realize that I am in my Father,
And you are in me,
And I am in you.
Whoever has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me.
The one who loves me will be loved by my father,
And I too will love them and show myself to them.
Then Judas,
Not Judas Iscariot,
Said,
But Lord,
Why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus replied,
Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.
My father will love them,
And we will come to them and make our home with them.
Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teachings.
These words you hear are not my own.
They belong to the Father who sent me.
All this I have spoken while still with you.
But the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name.
Will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
Peace,
I leave with you.
My peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled,
And do not be afraid.
You heard me say,
I am going away and I am coming back to you.
If you loved me,
You would be glad that I am going to the Father.
For the Father is greater than I.
I have told you now before it happens,
So that when it does happen,
You will believe.
I will not say much more to you,
For the prince of this world is coming.
He has no hold over me,
But he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
Come now.
Let us leave.
Exodus 33 Then the Lord said to Moses,
Leave this place,
You and the people you brought up out of Egypt,
And go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham,
Isaac,
And Jacob.
Saying,
I will give it to your descendants.
I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites,
Amorites,
Hittites,
Perizzites,
Hivites,
And Jebusites.
Go up to the land flowing,
With milk and honey.
But I will not go with you,
Because you are a stiff-necked people,
And I might destroy you on the way.
" When the people heard these distressing words,
They began to mourn,
And no one put on any ornaments.
For the Lord had said to Moses,
Tell the Israelites,
You are a stiff-necked people.
If I were to go with you,
Even for a moment.
I might destroy you.
Now take off your ornaments,
And I will decide what to do with you.
So,
The Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.
Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away,
Calling it the Tent of Meeting.
Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp And whenever Moses went out to the tent,
All the people rose,
And stood at the entrances to their tents.
Watching Moses until he entered the tent.
As Moses went into the tent,
The pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance.
While the Lord spoke with Moses.
Whenever the people saw the pillar of clouds standing at the entrance to the tent,
They all stood and worshipped,
Each at the entrance to their tent.
The Lord would speak to Moses face to face as one speaks to a friend.
Then Moses would return to the camp,
But his young aide Joshua,
Son of Nun,
Did not leave the tent.
Moses said to the Lord,
You have been telling me,
Lead these people,
But You have not let me know whom You will send with me.
You have said,
I know you by name,
And you have found favor with me.
If you are pleased with me,
Teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you.
Remember that this nation is your people.
The Lord replied,
My presence will go with you,
And I will give you rest.
Then Moses said to him,
If your presence does not go with us,
Do not send us up from here.
How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us?
What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?
And the Lord said to Moses,
I will do the very thing you have asked,
Because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.
Then Moses said,
Now show me your glory.
And the Lord said,
I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you,
And I will proclaim my name,
The Lord,
In your presence.
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.
And I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
But,
He said.
You cannot see my face,
For no one may see me and live.
Then the Lord said,
There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.
When my glory passes by,
I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back,
But my face must not be seen.
Psalms 46.
God is our refuge and strength.
An ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear.
Though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
Though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging,
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her.
She will not fall.
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar.
Kingdoms fall.
He lifts his voice.
The earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us.
The God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see what the Lord has done,
The desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear.
He burns the shields with fire.
He says.
Be still and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted in the earth.
The Lord Almighty is with us.
The God of Jacob is our fortress.
1 Peter 5 To the elders among you,
I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ's sufferings,
Who also will share in the glory to be revealed.
Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care,
Watching over them.
Not because you must,
But because you are willing as God wants you to be.
Not pursuing dishonest gain,
But eager to serve.
Not lording it over those entrusted to you,
But being examples to the flock.
And when the chief shepherd appears,
You will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
In the same way,
You who are younger,
Submit yourselves to your elders.
All of you,
Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another,
Because God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.
Humble yourselves,
Therefore,
Under God's mighty hand,
That he may lift you up in due time.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Be alert and of sober mind.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Resist him,
Standing firm in the faith,
Because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
And the God of all grace,
Who called you to his eternal glory in Christ,
After you have suffered a little while,
Will himself restore you and make you strong,
Firm,
And steadfast.
To him be the power forever and ever.
Amen.
With the help of Silas,
Whom I regard as a faithful brother,
I have written to you briefly,
Encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God.
Stand fast in it.
She who is in Babylon,
Chosen together with you,
Sends you her greetings,
And so does my son Mark.
Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
Isaiah 41.
Be silent before me,
You islands.
Let the nations renew their strength.
Let them come forward and speak.
Let us meet together at the place of judgment.
Who has stirred up one from the east,
Calling him in righteousness to his service?
He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust with his sword,
To windblown chaff with his bow.
He pursues them and moves on unscathed,
By a path his feet have not travelled before.
Who has done this and carried it through,
Calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I,
The Lord,
With the first of them and with the last,
I am he.
The islands have seen it and fear.
The ends of the earth tremble.
They approach and come forward.
They help each other and say to their companions.
Be strong.
The metal worker encourages the goldsmith,
And the one who smooths with the hammer spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.
One says of the welding.
It is good.
The other nails down the idol,
So it will not topple.
But you,
Israel,
My servant,
Jacob,
Whom I have chosen.
" you descendants of Abraham,
My friend.
I took you from the ends of the earth.
From its farthest corners I called you.
I said,
You are my servant.
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
So do not fear,
For I am with you.
Do not be dismayed,
For I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced.
Those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.
Though you search for your enemies,
Find them.
Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.
For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you,
Do not fear,
I will help you.
Do not be afraid.
You worm Jacob,
Little Israel.
Do not fear,
For I Myself will help you.
Declares the Lord your Redeemer.
The Holy One of Israel.
See.
I will make you into a threshing sledge,
New and sharp,
With many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
And reduce the hills to chaff.
You will winnow them,
The wind will pick them up,
And a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the Lord and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
The poor and needy search for water,
But there is none.
Their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the Lord will answer them.
I,
The God of Israel,
Will not forsake them.
I will make rivers flow on barren heights and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into springs.
I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia.
The myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
The fir and the cypress together,
So that people may see and know,
May consider and understand.
That the hand of the Lord has done this.
That the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Present your case,
Says the Lord.
Set forth your arguments,
Says Jacob's king.
Tell us,
You idols,
What is going to happen.
Tell us what the former things were,
So that we may consider them and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come.
Tell us what the future holds.
So we may know that you are gods.
Do something,
Whether good or bad.
So that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.
But you are less than nothing,
And your works are utterly worthless.
Whoever chooses you is detestable.
I have stirred up one from the North.
And he comes.
One from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,
As if he were a potter treading the clay.
Who told of this from the beginning.
So we could know or beforehand so we could say.
He was right.
No one told of this.
No one foretold it.
No one heard any words from you.
I was the first to tell Zion,
Look,
Here they are.
I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.
I look,
But there is no one.
No one among the gods to give counsel.
No one to give answer when I ask them.
See,
They are all false.
Their deeds amount to nothing.
Their images are but wind and confusion.
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