Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen. My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue. But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. You are my refuge and my shield;
I have put my hope in your word. So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.” Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. A person may think their own ways are right,
but the Lord weighs the heart. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. The unfolding of your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought me joy. 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? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed. In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me? For the Lord is our judge,
the Lord is our lawgiver,
the Lord is our king;
it is he who will save us. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.