- Before the mountains were born,
before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
from beginning to end, you are God. - But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel,
whose origins are in the distant past,
will come from you on my behalf. - It is the same with my word.
I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it. - The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known. - He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
- Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. - But he knows where I am going.
And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
For I have stayed on God’s paths;
I have followed his ways and not turned aside. - The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever. - A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
- Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.
- He sent out his word and healed them,
snatching them from the door of death. - And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
- “All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.
- In those days when you pray, I will listen.
- Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker. - And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”
- Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see.
For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. - We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us.
- For the Lord grants wisdom!
From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. - Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.
- “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.”
- But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,
‘People do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” - So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!
- Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made.
- Who has done such mighty deeds,
summoning each new generation from the beginning of time?
It is I, the Lord, the First and the Last.
I alone am he.
So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken. For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.Next verse!With image