I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. It is to one’s honor to avoid strife,
but every fool is quick to quarrel. Your statutes are my heritage forever;
they are the joy of my heart. For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen. Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom. 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? Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. I am the Lord your God; follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God. Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips
and spreads slander is a fool. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Where there is strife, there is pride,
but wisdom is found in those who take advice. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.