Eat what is good

God and Jesus says

 

Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. 1 Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 2 I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger. 3

People will come from east and west,  and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom. 4 I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness. 5

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. 6 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life. 7

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in rich food. 8

With honey from the rock i would satisfy you. 9 He who has no money, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 10 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied. 11

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 12

1 Lk 6.21 2 Psa 81.10 3 Jn 6.35 4 Lk 13.29 5 Jer 31.14 6 Jn 6.51 7 Jn 6.27 8 Isa 55.2 9 Psa 81.16 10 Isa 55.1 11 Joel 2.26 12 Rev 3.20

Taste and see that the LORD is good

O taste and see that the LORD is good. 1 Take delight in the LORD. 2

He provides food for those who fear him – 3 spiritual food and spiritual drink. 4

Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 5

He satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things, 6 bread from heaven, 7 and honey from the rock. 8

Whoever eats of this bread will live forever. 9

The LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines. 10 People will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. 11

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 12

 

1 Psa 34.8 2 Psa 37.4 3 Psa 111.5 4 1Cor 10.3-4 5 1Pt 2.2-3 6 Psa 107.9 7 Jn 6.32 8 Psa 81.16 9 Jn 6.51 10 Isa 25.6 11 Lk 13.29 12 Mt 5.6

God will be with you in the wilderness

The LORD watches over the way of the righteous. 1

In a desert land he found Jacob, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye. The LORD alone led him. 2 God’s people did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock. 3

The LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. The LORD your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything. 4 

The LORD will guide you always. 5 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” 6 

He will sustain you. 7 He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. 8

The LORD watches over you – the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 9 

Do not be afraid for the LORD your God goes with you 10 through the valley of the shadow of death. 11

 

1 Psa 1.6 2 Deut 32.10-12 3 Isa 48.21 4 Deut 2.7 5 Isa 58.11 6 Isa 30.20-21 7 Psa 55.22 8 Isa 58.11 9 Psa 121.5-6 10 Deut 31.6 11 Psa 23.4

Bear fruit for God

You were put to death in relation to the law through the crucified body of the Messiah, so that you may belong to another – to him who was raised from the dead – that we may bear fruit for God. For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions operated through the law in every part of us and bore fruit for death. But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law. 1

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. 2 The fruit of the light results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. 3

Produce fruit consistent with repentance. 4 Walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work, 5 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. 6

For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. 7 

Now the One who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 8 May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful. 9

 

1 Rom 7.4-6 2 Gal 5.22-23 3 Eph 5.9 4 Mt 3.8 5 Col 1.10 6 Phil 1.11 7 Eph 2.10 8 2Cor 9.10 9 Gen 28.3

Give me bread from heaven

LORD, you in your mercies did not forsake the people of Israel in the wilderness. You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth. 1

You gave them bread from heaven. 2 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat. 3

Your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. 4 Your mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 5

The people of Israel ate the manna forty years. 6 Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. 7

O LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me! 8 I shall not want. 9

Feed me with the food that is needful for me, 10 the bread of life, 11 the true bread from heaven. 12

 

1 Neh 9.7, 19-20 2 Neh 9.15 3 Exo 16.21 4 Psa 138.8 5 Lam 3.22-23 6 Exo 16.35 7 Neh 9.21 8 Psa 40.11 9 Psa 23.1 10 Prov 30.8 11 Jn 6.35 12 Jn 6.32

The LORD provides food

Who provides food for the ravens when their young cry out to God and wander about in hunger? 1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! He gives food to every living thing. 2

He covers the heavens with clouds, provides rain for the earth, and makes the grass grow in mountain pastures. He gives food to the wild animals and feeds the young ravens when they cry. 3 Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! 4

So don’t worry about these things, saying, “What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?” These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. 5

How gracious and merciful is our LORD! He gives food to those who fear him; he always remembers his covenant. 6 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. 7

 

1 Job 38.41 2 Psa 136.1,25 3 Psa 147.8-9 4 Lk 12.24 5 Mt 6.31-33 6 Psa 111.4-5 7 Psa 107.1,9

I am

God says

 

I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me. 1

I am who I am. 2 I, the LORD, am the maker of all things. 3 I am God Almighty. 4

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the house of slavery. 5 I, the LORD, am your Saviour and your Redeemer. 6

I, the LORD, am your healer. 7 I am a master to you. 8 I am a shield to you. 9 I am your portion and your inheritance. 10

I am the Lord, your Holy One. 11 I am a great King, and My name is feared among the nations. 12

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. 13 I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me. 14

 

1 Isa 46.9 2 Exo 3.14 3 Isa 44.24 4 Gen 17.1 5 Exo 20.2 6 Isa 60.16 7 Exo 15.26 8 Jer 3.14 9 Gen 15.1 10 Num 18.20 11 Isa 43.15 12 Mal 1.14 15 Rev 21.6 16 Isa 44.6

Your name

Father, hallowed be your name. 1 You are great, and your name is great in might. 2

Your name, O LORD, endures forever, your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages. 3 I will glorify your name forever. 4

Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your custom toward those who love your name. 5 For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt. 6 For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life. 7 For your name’s sake lead me and guide me. 8

Give me an undivided heart to revere your name. 9

Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs, and an impious people reviles your name. Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise your name. Rise up, O God, plead your cause. 10 Act, O LORD, for your name’s sake. 11

All the nations you have made shall come and bow down before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. 12 Your name will be magnified forever. 13

 

1 Lk 11.2 2 Jer 10.6 3 Psa 135.13 4 Psa 86.12 5 Psa 119.132 6 Psa 25.11 7 Psa 143.11 8 Psa 31.3 9 Psa 86.12 10 Psa 74.18,21-22 11 Jer 14.7 12 Psa 86.9 13 2Sam 7.26

Our future glory

In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. 1

For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. 2

Together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 3

We can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 4 We never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever. 5 

When Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. 6 When the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never ending glory and honour. 7

 

1 1Pet 5.10 2 Rom 8.29-30 3 Rom 8.17-19 4 2Cor 3.18 5 2Cor 4.16-17 6 Col 3.4 7 1Pet 5.4

As for me

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good. 1

But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. 2

What the godless trust in is fragile; what they rely on is a spider’s web. They lean on the web, but it gives way; they cling to it, but it does not hold. 3

As for me, I call to God, and the LORD saves me. 4

Those who are far from God will perish. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge. 5

Those who trust in idols, who say to images, “You are our gods,” will be turned back in utter shame. 6

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Saviour. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness. 7

 

1 Psa 53.1 2 Josh 24.15 3 Job 8.14-15 4 Psa 55.16 5 Psa 73.27-28 6 Isa 42.17 7 Mic 7.7-9

A prayer for God’s people

Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face, who exult in your name all the day and in your righteousness are exalted. For you are the glory of their strength. 1

Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you. In the cover of your presence you hide them from plots of men; you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues. 2

May they be secure who love you! 3 Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. 4 Keep them in your name that they may be one. 5 Peace and mercy be upon them. 6

Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. 7 Direct their hearts toward you. 8 May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, ”God is great!” 9 Let them ever sing for joy. 10

Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever. 11

 

1 Psa 89.15-17 2 Psa 31.19-20 3 Psa 122.6 4 Psa 5.11 5 Jn 17.11 6 Gal 6.16 7 Psa 90.16 8 1Chr 29.18 9 Psa 70.4 10 Psa  5.11 11 Psa 28.9

God’s love for us

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 1 When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy. 2

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 3

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. 4 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. 5

I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, 6 who establishes us in Christ, 7 who daily bears us up, 8 who comforts us in all our affliction, 9 who richly provides us with everything to enjoy, 10 who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 11

I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12

 

1 1Jn 4.9 2 Titus 3.4-5 3 Rom 5.8 4 1Jn 3.1 5 1Jn 4.16 6 Isa 63.7 7 2Cor 1.21 8 Psa 68.19 9 2Cor 1.4 10 1Tim 6.17 11 1Cor 15.57 12 Rom 8.38-39

Come to Me

Jesus says 

 

I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. 1

Whoever is of God hears the words of God. 2 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 3

No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father. 4  No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. 5 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever to me I will never cast out. 6

Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 7

I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 8 People will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 9 Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 10

Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 11 Come, you who are blessed by my Father. 12 Come, follow me. 13

 

1 Lk 5.32 2 Jn 8.47 3 Jn 10.27 4 Jn 6.65 5 Jn 6.44 6 Jn 6.37 7 Lk 18.16 Jn 10.16 9 Lk 13.29 10 Jn 6.35 11 Mt 11.28 12 Mt 25.34 13 Mt 19.21

I trust in You

I am trusting you, O LORD. 1

I look to you for help, O Sovereign LORD. You are my refuge. 2 You are my rock and my fortress. 3 I trust in your unfailing love. 4

I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely. 5 You, O LORD, are a shield around me. 6 You are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. 7

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. 8 I know that you can do anything. 9 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! 10

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe. 11 You guard all that is mine. 12 My future is in your hands. 13 O LORD, I give my life to you. I trust in you, my God! 14

 

1 Psa 31.14 2 Psa 141.8 3 Psa 31.3 4 Psa 13.5 5 Psa 63.8 6 Psa 3.3 7 Psa 32.7 8 Psa 56.3 9 Job 42.2 10 Isa 26.3 11 Psa 4.8 12 12 Psa 16.5 13 Psa 31.15 14 Psa 25.1-2

God is sovereign

The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. 1

The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. 2 He works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. 3

The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbled and he exalts. 4 The Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes. 5

He deposes kings and raises up others. 6 He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. 7 He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them. 8

He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand. 9 The plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. 10

 

1 Psa 24.1 2 Psa 135.6 3 Eph 1.11 4 1Sam 2.6-7 5 Dan 5.21 6 Dan 2.21 7 Isa 40.23-24 8 Job 12.23 9 Dan 4.35 10 Psa 33.11

He who promised is faithful

The Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 1 I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 2

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? 3 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. 4

Know that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments. 5 

He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 God has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 7

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 8 And this is the promise that he made to us – eternal life, 9 eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began. 10

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. 11

 

1 2Th 3.3 2 Phil 1.6 3 Num 23.19 4 Isa 40.8 5 Deut 7.9 6 1Pt 1.3-5 7 2Cor 1.21-22 8 Heb 10.23 9 1Jn 2.25 10 Titus 1.2 11 1Th 5.23-24

Let your light shine

Once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. 1

You are all children of the light. 2 So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. 3 Be always ready to do what is good. 4

You are the light of the world – like a  city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. 5 Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the LORD rise to shine on you. 6

From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines in glorious radiance. 7 Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the LORD rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light. 8

Always try to do good to each other and to all people. 9 Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticise you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 10

 

1 Eph 5.8 2 1Th 5.5 3 Eph 5.8-11 4 Titus 3.1 5 Mt 5.14-16 6 Isa 60.1 7 Psa 50.2 8 Isa 60.2-3 9 1Th 5.15 10 Phil 2.14-15

Rejoice

Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph! 1 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. 2

Rejoice in all the good that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house. 3 Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God. Praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. 4

Rejoice in hope. 5 Rejoice that your names are written in heaven. 6

Rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 7 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. 8

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 9 Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. 10 Be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things! 11

 

1 Deut 33.29 2 Isa 12.6 3 Deut 26.11 4 Joel 2.23,26 5 Rom 12.12 6 Lk 10.20 7 1Pt 4.13 8 Mt 5.12 9 Phil 4.4 10 Psa 47.1-2 Joel 2.21

The cost of being My disciple

Jesus says 

 

Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 1

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, “This man began to build and was not able to finish.” So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. 2

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. 3

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 4

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 5 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive it hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 6

 

1 Lk 14.27 2 Lk 14.28-30,33 3 Mt 13.44-46 4 Lk 14.26 5 Lk 9.23-24 6 Mt 19.29

Be unselfish

None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 1 Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 2

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 3 He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him. 4

Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbour. 5 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. 6

Wash one another’s feet. 7 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 8 Outdo one another in showing honour. 9

Love does not insist on its own way. 10 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 11 

Love one another with brotherly affection. 12 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself,” you are doing well. 13

 

1 Rom 14.7-8 2 Rom 15.3 3 2Cor 8.9 4 2Cor 5.15 5 1Cor 10.24 6 1Pet 4.10 7 Jn 13.14 8 Phil 2.3 9 Rom 12.10 10 1Cor 13.4-5 11 Phil 2.4 12 Rom 12.10 13 Jam 2.8

Your words are the delight of my heart

You have the words of eternal life. 1

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts. 2 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 3

Your decrees are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. The unfolding of your words gives light. 4 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 5

Your word is truth. 6 My heart stands in awe of your words. I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. 7

Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long. 8 My soul is consumed with longing for your ordinances at all times. 9 I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life. 10 Your decrees are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. 11

 

1 Jn 6.68 2 Jer 15.16 3 Psa 119.103 4 Psa  119.129-130 5 Psa 119.105 6 Jn 17.17 7 Psa 119.161.162 8 Psa 119.97 9 Psa 119.20 10 Psa 119.93 11 Psa 119.111

Be wise my son

Listen, my son. Accept my words. I am teaching you the way of wisdom. Hold on to instruction; don’t let go. Guard it, for it is your life. 1 Wisdom is supreme – so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding. 2

My son, if sinners entice you, don’t be persuaded. Don’t travel that road with them. 3 Don’t associate with those who drink too much wine or with those who gorge themselves on meat. 4

My son though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her words are smoother than oil, in the end she’s as bitter as wormwood and as sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death. 5

My son, pay attention to my words. Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life. Don’t let your mouth speak dishonestly, and don’t let your lips talk deviously. 6

My son, if your heart is wise, my heart will indeed rejoice. 7 My son, don’t forget my teaching. Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you. Tie them around your neck; write them on the tablet of of your heart. Then you will find favour and high regard in the sight of God and man. 8

 

1 Prov 4.10-11,13 2 Prov 4.7 3 Prov 1.10,15 4 Prov 23.20 5 Prov 5.1,3-5 6 Prov 4.20,23-24 7 Prov 23.25 8 Prov 3.1,3-4

Do not love the world

You are not of the world. 1 You are but aliens and sojourners. 2

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 3

Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God. 4 Many are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. 5

If you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come. 6

I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. 7 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 8 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. 9

 

1 Jn 15.19 2 Lev 25.23 3 1Jn 2.15-16 4 Jam 4.4 5 Phil 3.18-19 6 Col 3.1-3,5-6 7 1Pt 2.11 8 Rom 12.2 9 1Jn 2.17