Lead Me in Your Righteousness

Psalm 5: To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

1) Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning.

2) Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.

3) O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

4) For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.

5) The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.

6) You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

7) But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.

8) Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.

9) For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.

10) Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.

11) But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rexult in you.

12) For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield.

Ministers of the New Covenant

2Corinthians 3:1)  Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2)  You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. 3)  And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4)  Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5)  Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6)  who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7)  Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8)  will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9)  For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10)  Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11)  For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. 12)  Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13)  not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14)  But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15)  Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16)  But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17)  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18)  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

The Commander of the Lord’s Army

Joshua 5:13) When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" 14) And he said, "No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?" 15) And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

Proverbs 22:6

Reign of the Lord's Annointed

Psalm 2:1  Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

2)  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,

3)  "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us."

4)  He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.

5)  Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,

6)  "As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill."

7)  I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

8)  Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

9)  You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

10)  Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.

11)  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

12)  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Proverbs 12:24

The Steadfast Love of God Endures

Psalm 52:1)  To the choirmaster. A Maskil of David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, "David has come to the house of Ahimelech." Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day.

2)  Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.

3)  You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah

4)  You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.

5)  But God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah

6)  The righteous shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying,

7)  "See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!"

8)  But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.

9)  I will thank you forever, because you have done it. I will wait for your name, for it is good, in the presence of the godly.

Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:1) Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord." 2) And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3) In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4) and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5) but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6) The Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7) If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." 8) Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9) Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" 10) And the Lord said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. 11) And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12) When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." 13) Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14) Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." 15) Then the Lord said to him, "Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. 16) Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
17) Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. 18) To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19) And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20) Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21) His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22) Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
23) Lamech said to his wives:

"Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:

I have killed a man for wounding me,

a young man for striking me.

24) If Cain's revenge is sevenfold,

then Lamech's is seventy-sevenfold."

25) And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, "God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him." 26) To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.

Warning Visions

Amos 7:1) This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. 2) When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,

"O Lord God, please forgive!

How can Jacob stand?

He is so small!"

3) The Lord relented concerning this:

"It shall not be," said the Lord.

4) This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, the Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5) Then I said,

"O Lord God, please cease!

How can Jacob stand?

He is so small!"

6) The Lord relented concerning this:

"This also shall not be," said the Lord God.

7) This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8) And the Lord said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said,

"Behold, I am setting a plumb line

in the midst of my people Israel;

I will never again pass by them;

9) the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."

False Prophets and Teachers

2 Peter 2:1) But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2) And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3) And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. 4) For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5) if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6) if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7) and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8) (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9) then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10) and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, 11) whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. 12) But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, 13) suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. 14) They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! 15) Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16) but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. 17) These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 18) For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 19) They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 20) For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21) For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22) What the true proverb says has happened to them: "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire."

Proverbs 3:5

With God We Shall Do Valiantly

Psalm 108:1)  A Song. A Psalm of David. My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being!

2)  Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!

3)  I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.

4)  For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

5)  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!

6)  That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer me!

7)  God has promised in his holiness: "With exultation I will divide up Shechem and portion out the Valley of Succoth.

8)  Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter.

9)  Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph."

10)  Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

11)  Have you not rejected us, O God? You do not go out, O God, with our armies.

12)  Oh grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man!

13)  With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.

Proverbs 29:25

The unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 5:6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Joshua Assumes Command

Joshua 1:10) And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, 11) "Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ " 12) And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, 13) "Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ 14) Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, 15) until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise." 16) And they answered Joshua, "All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17) Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! 18) Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous."

Witnesses to Jesus

John 5:30) "I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31) If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true. 32) There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33) You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34) Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35) He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36) But lthe testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37) And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38) and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39) You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40) yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41) I do not receive glory from people. 42) But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43) I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44) How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45) Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46) For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47) But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?"

My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord

Psalm 84:1) To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

1) How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord of hosts!

2) My soul longs, yes, faints

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to the living God.

3) Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O Lord of hosts,

my King and my God.

4) Blessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever singing your praise! Selah

5) Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

6) As they go through the Valley of Baca

they make it a place of springs;

the early rain also covers it with pools.

7) They go from strength to strength;

each one appears before God in Zion.

8) O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

9) Behold our shield, O God;

look on the face of your anointed!

10) For a day in your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11) For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does he withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

12) O Lord of hosts,

blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Proverbs 3:3

The Fall

Genesis 3:1) Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?" 2) And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3) but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ " 4) But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5) For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6) So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7) Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
8) And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9) But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" 10) And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." 11) He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12) The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." 13) Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

14) The Lord God said to the serpent,

"Because you have done this,

cursed are you above all livestock

and above all beasts of the field;

on your belly you shall go,

and dust you shall eat

all the days of your life.

15) I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel."

16) To the woman he said,

"I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;

in pain you shall bring forth children.

Your desire shall be for your husband,

and he shall rule over you."

17) And to Adam he said,

"Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten of the tree

of which I commanded you,

‘You shall not eat of it,’

cursed is the ground because of you;

in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

18) thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

and you shall eat the plants of the field.

19) By the sweat of your face

you shall eat bread,

till you return to the ground,

for out of it you were taken;

for you are dust,

and to dust you shall return."

20) The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21) And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. 22) Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—" 23) therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24) He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Judging Others

Luke 6:36) Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. 37), "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38) give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you." 39) He also told them a parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40) A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41) Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42) How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

The Holy Spirit Falls on the Gentiles

Acts 10:44) While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45) And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. 46) For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 "Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" 48) And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

Redemption Through the Blood of Christ

Hebrews 9:11) But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13) For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14) how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. 15) Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. 16) For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18) Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. 19) For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20) saying, "This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you." 21) And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22) Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 23) Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24) For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25) Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26) for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27) And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28) so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Proverbs 16:3

I Am the Good Shepherd

John 10:1) "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2) But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3) To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4) When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5) A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." 6) This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7) So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8) All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9) I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11) I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12) He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13) He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14) I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15) just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16) And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17) For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18) No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father." 19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20) Many of them said, "He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?" 21) Others said, "These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

When Brothers Dwell in Unity

Psalm 133 A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1) Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when brothers dwell in unity!

2) It is like the precious oil on the head,

running down on the beard,

on the beard of Aaron,

running down on the collar of his robes!

3) It is like the dew of Hermon,

which falls on the mountains of Zion!

For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,

life forevermore.

Paul Called by God

Galatians 1:11) For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12) For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13) For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14) And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15) But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16) was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17) nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. 18) Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19) But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. 20) (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22) And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23) They only were hearing it said, "He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." 24) And they glorified God because of me.

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

2 Timothy 2:1) You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2) and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3) Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4) No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5) An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6) It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7) Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 8) Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9) for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10) Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11) The saying is trustworthy, for:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

12) if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he also will deny us;

13) if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself.

Paul’s Concern for the Galatians

8) Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9) But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10) You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11) I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain. 12) Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. 13) You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, 14) and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15) What then has become of the blessing you felt? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16) Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17) They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. 18) It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, 19) my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! 20) I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

Galatians 4:

Proverbs 22:29

The Day of the Wrath of the Lord

Ezekiel 7:1) The word of the Lord came to me: 2) "And you, O son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. 3) Now the end is upon you, and I will send my anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. 4) And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 5) "Thus says the Lord God: Disaster after disaster! Behold, it comes. 6) An end has come; the end has come; it has awakened against you. Behold, it comes. 7) Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come; the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting on the mountains. 8) Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you, and judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. 9) And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the Lord, who strikes. 10) "Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! Your doom has come; the rod has blossomed; pride has budded. 11) Violence has grown up into a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth; neither shall there be preeminence among them. 12) The time has come; the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, for wrath is upon all their multitude. 13) For the seller shall not return to what he has sold, while they live. For the vision concerns all their multitude; it shall not turn back; and because of his iniquity, none can maintain his life. 14) "They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but none goes to battle, for my wrath is upon all their multitude. 15) The sword is without; pestilence and famine are within. He who is in the field dies by the sword, and him who is in the city famine and pestilence devour. 16) And if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each one over his iniquity. 17) All hands are feeble, and all knees turn to water. 18) They put on sackcloth, and horror covers them. Shame is on all faces, and baldness on all their heads.
19) They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity. 20) His beautiful ornament they used for pride, and they made their abominable images and their detestable things of it. Therefore I make it an unclean thing to them. 21) And I will give it into the hands of foreigners for prey, and to the wicked of the earth for spoil, and they shall profane it. 22) I will turn my face from them, and they shall profane my treasured place. Robbers shall enter land profane it. 23) "Forge a chain! For the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence. 24) I will bring the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the pride of the strong, and their holy places shall be profaned. 25) When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there shall be none. 26) Disaster comes upon disaster; rumor follows rumor. They seek a vision from the prophet, while the law perishes from the priest and counsel from the elders. 27) The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are paralyzed by terror. According to their way I will do to them, and according to their judgments I will judge them, and they shall know that I am the Lord."

Laborers in the Vineyard

Matthew 20:1) "For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2) After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3) And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4) and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5) So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6) And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7) They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8) And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9) And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10) Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11) And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12) saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13) But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14) Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15) Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16) So the last will be first, and the first last."

Jesus Foretells Wars and Persecution

Luke 21:10) Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11) There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. 12) But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13) This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14) Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15) for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16) You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17) You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. 18) But not a hair of your head will perish. 19) By your endurance you will gain your lives.

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

Luke 20:1) One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up 2) and said to him, "Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority." 3) He answered them, "I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, 4) was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?" 5) And they discussed it with one another, saying, "If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6) But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet." 7) So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8) And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth

A Song of Ascents.

Psalm 129:1) "Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth"— let Israel now say—

2) "Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me.

3) The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows."

4) The Lord is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked.

5) May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward!

6) Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up,

7) with which the reaper does not fill his hand nor the binder of sheaves his arms,

8) nor do those who pass by say, "The blessing of the Lord be upon you! We bless you in the name of the Lord!"

Sit at My Right Hand

Psalm 110:1)  A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool."

2)  The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!

3)  Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.

4)  The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."

5)  The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.

6)  He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.

7)  He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.

The Ministry of Apostles

1 Corinthians 4:1) This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2) Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. 3) But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4) For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5) Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. 6) I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers,
that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. 7) For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? 8) Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! 9) For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 10) We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. 11) To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, 12) and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; 13) when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things. 14) I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15) For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16) I urge you, then, be imitators of me. 17) That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. 18) Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. 19) But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. 20) For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 21) What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?

A Man with a Withered Hand

Matthew 12:9) He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10) And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"—so that they might accuse him. 11) He said to them, "Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12) Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 13) Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14) But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

Great Are the Lord's Works

Psalm 111:1)  Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

2)  Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.

3)  Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.

4)  He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and merciful.

5)  He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.

6)  He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations.

7)  The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy;

8)  they are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.

9)  He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name!

10)  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!