Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered. Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. By day the Lord directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 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. I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. 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.” Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. Dishonest money dwindles away,
but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow. When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor. Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.Next verse!With image