Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners. Plans fail for lack of counsel,
but with many advisers they succeed. Do everything in love. But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom. Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 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. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin. Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord. May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water. But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty—
he is the King of glory.