IS THE BIBLE GOD'S WORD?

ISAIAH 52:13
13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.

ISAIAH 53:12
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

DID CHRIST RISE FROM THE DEAD?

THIS WEEKS ASSIGNMENT CONTAINS NO SCRIPTURE THAT REQUIRES LOOKING UP.
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IS CHRISTIANITY RATIONAL?

THERE ARE NO SCRIPTURES ASSIGNED TO THIS WEEK'S STUDY.

HARDER

GENESIS 2:18
And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

PSALMS 16:11
11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

PSALMS 63:1
1 A Psalm of David When He Was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.

EPHESIANS 3:20-21
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

LUKE 14:28
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—

GALATIANS 6:9
9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

SLOWER

THIS WEEKS ASSIGNMENT CONTAINS NO SCRIPTURE THAT REQUIRES LOOKING UP.

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SIMPLER

HEBREWS 13:5
5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

1 TIMOTHY 6:8
8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

LUKE 12:20-21
20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

LUKE 16:9
9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.

MARK 10:21
21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

LUKE 12:32-34
32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

ACTS 2:45-46
45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,

DEUTERONOMY 15:7-8
7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,
8 but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.

DEUTERONOMY 15:10
10 You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.

1 PETER 1:3-7
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

REVELATION 21:15-21
15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.
16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.
17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.
18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

SMALLER

ECCLESIATES 1:2-11
2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher;
“Vanity of vanities, call is vanity.”
3 What profit has a man from all his labor
In which he toils under the sun?
4 One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
But the earth abides forever.
5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down,
And hastens to the place where it arose.
6 The wind goes toward the south,
And turns around to the north;
The wind whirls about continually,
And comes again on its circuit.
7 All the rivers run into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full;
To the place from which the rivers come,
There they return again.
8 All things are full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
 The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us.
11 There is kno remembrance of former things,
Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come
By those who will come after.

COLOSSIANS 3:1-3
1If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

MARK 12:29-31
29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.
30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 
31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

MATTHEW 5:3-5
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.

PHILIPPIANS 2:6-8
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

BLESSINGS FROM ZION

PSALM 133
Blessed Unity of the People of God
A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the LORD commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore.

EXODUS 29:1-9
1“And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, 
2 and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil (you shall make them of wheat flour). 
3 You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams.
4 “And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall wash them with water. 
5 Then you shall take the garments, put the tunic on Aaron, and the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the intricately woven band of the ephod. 
6 You shall put the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. 
7 And you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him. 
8 Then you shall bring his sons and put tunics on them.
9 And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats on them. The priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. So you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.

JOHN 17:20-21
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 
21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

PSALM 134
Praising the LORD In His House at Night
A Song of Ascents.

1 Behold, bless the LORD,
All you servants of the LORD,
Who by night stand in the house of the LORD!
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
And bless the LORD.
3 The LORD who made heaven and earth
Bless you from Zion!

A PASSION FOR GOD'S PRESENCE

PSALM 132:1-10
1 LORD, remember David
And all his afflictions;
2 How he swore to the LORD,
aAnd vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house,
Or go up to the comfort of my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I find a place for the LORD,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
We found it gin the fields of the woods.
7 Let us go into His tabernacle;
Let us worship at His footstool.
8 Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
9 Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
And let Your saints shout for joy.
10 For Your servant David’s sake,
Do not turn away the face of Your Anointed.

EXODUS 25:21-22
21 You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and nin the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you.
22 And othere I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.

1 SAMUEL 7:1
1 Then the men of Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and cconsecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.

2 SAMUEL 6:1-15
1 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. 
2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the Name, the LORD of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim.
3 So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart. 
4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark.
5 Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the LORD on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.
6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.
7 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. 
8 And David became angry because of the LORD’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this day.
9 David was afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?”
10 So David would not move the ark of the LORD with him into the City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.
11 The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the LORD blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.

2 SAMUEL 6:1-15 cont…
12 Now it was told King David, saying, “The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness.
13 And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. 
14 Then David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. 
15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

1 CHRONICLES 15:11-15
11 And David called for Zadok and hAbiathar the priests, and for the Levites: for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.
12 He said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.
13 For because you did not do it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him 3about the proper order.”
14 So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel. 
15 And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders, by its poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD.

PSALM 132:12
12 If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I shall teach them, Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.”

PSALM 132:17-18
17 There I will make the horn of David grow;
tI will prepare a lamp for My Anointed.
18 His enemies I will uclothe with shame,
But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.”

MY HOPE IS IN THE LORD

Psalm 130
1 A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD.
2 Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications.
3 If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption.
8 And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

COLOSSIANS 2:13-15
13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

PROTECTOR OF THE OPPRESSED

Psalm 129
1 A Song of Ascents. “Many times they have persecuted me from my youth up,” Let Israel now say,
2 “Many times they have persecuted me from my youth up; Yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 “The plowers plowed upon my back; They lengthened their furrows.”
4 The LORD is righteous; He has cut in two the cords of the wicked.
5 May all who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned backward;
6 Let them be like grass upon the housetops, Which withers before it grows up;
7 With which the reaper does not fill his hand, Or the binder of sheaves his bosom;
8 Nor do those who pass by say, “The blessing of the LORD be upon you; We bless you in the name of the LORD.”

Psalm 5:8-12
8 O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; Make Your way straight before me.
9 There is nothing reliable in what they say; Their inward part is destruction itself. Their throat is an open grave; They flatter with their tongue.
10 Hold them guilty, O God; By their own devices let them fall! In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, For they are rebellious against You.
11 But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You.
12 For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield.

Exodus 23:4-5
4 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him.
5 “If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him.

Leviticus 19:16-18
16 ‘You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the LORD.
17 ‘You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him.
18 ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.

Proverbs 24:17-18
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
18 Or the LORD will see it and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him.

A FRUITFUL VINE

ECCLESIATES 1:2
2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”

PSALM 127:1-2
1 A Song of Ascents, of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

JOHN 5:17
17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”

JOHN 15:4-5
4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

LUKE 11:27-28
27 While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.”
28 But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

JOHN 13:14-17
14 “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
15 “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.
16 “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.
17 “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

ROMANS 10:12
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;

MATTHEW 5:4
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

PSALM 128:1-4
1 A Song of Ascents. How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.
2 When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you.
3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine Within your house, Your children like olive plants Around your table.
4 Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the LORD.

PSALM 128:6
6 Indeed, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!

GENESIS 1:27-28
27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

GENESIS 15:5
5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

GENESIS 17:6
6 “I have made you exceedingly fruitful,
will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.

Matthew 28:19
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

John 15:1-8
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2 ,“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

John 15:16
16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.

GREAT THINGS FOR US

PSALM 125:1
1 A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in the LORD Are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.

PSALM 30:6-7
6 Now as for me, I said in my prosperity, “I will never be moved.”
7 O LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong; You hid Your face, I was dismayed.

PSALM 34:7
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.

PSALM 139:5
5 You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.

ZECHARIAH 2:3-5
3 And behold, the angel who was speaking with me was going out, and another angel was coming out to meet him,
4 and said to him, “Run, speak to that young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle within it.
5 ‘For I,’ declares the LORD, ‘will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’ ”

PSALM 34:17-19
17 The righteous cry, and the LORD hears And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.

PSALM 126
1 A Song of Ascents. When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion, We were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter And our tongue with joyful shouting; Then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
3 The LORD has done great things for us; We are glad.
4 Restore our captivity, O LORD, As the streams in the South.
5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
6 He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

LUKE 8:11-15
11 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.
12 “Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.
13 “Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.
14 “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
15 “But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance

THE LORD IS ON OUR SIDE

PSALM 124
1 A Song of Ascents, of David. “Had it not been the LORD who was on our side,” Let Israel now say,
2 “Had it not been the LORD who was on our side When men rose up against us,
3 Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their anger was kindled against us;
4 Then the waters would have engulfed us, The stream would have swept over our soul;
5 Then the raging waters would have swept over our soul.”
6 Blessed be the LORD, Who has not given us to be torn by their teeth.
7 Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the trapper; The snare is broken and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.

JOSHUA 23:10
10 “One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you.

JOHN 13:7
7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.”

ROMANS 8:28-39
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? of God, who also intercedes for us.
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;
34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”
37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

OUR EYES LOOK TO THE LORD

PSALM 122
1 A Song of Ascents, of David. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
2 Our feet are standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem,
3 Jerusalem, that is built As a city that is compact together;
4 To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the LORD— An ordinance for Israel— To give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5 For there thrones were set for judgment, The thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.
7 “May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, “May peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.

ACTS 3:1-7
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.
2 And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.
3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.
4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!”
5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!”
7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.

PSALMS 123:1
1 A Song of Ascents. To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens!

PSALMS 22:3-4
3 Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
4 In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You delivered them.

PSALM 29:10
10 The LORD sat as King at the flood; Yes, the LORD sits as King forever.

PSALM 99:1
1 The LORD reigns, let the peoples tremble; He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!

PSALM 113:4-6
4 The LORD is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God, Who is enthroned on high,
6 Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in heaven and in the earth?

WHERE WILL MY HELP COME FROM?

THERE ARE 150 PSALMS IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS.

PSALM 121
1 A Song of Ascents. I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.
8 The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.

JUDE 24
24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,

PSALM 91:4
4 He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

LANDMINE OF SLOTHFULNESS

2 THESSALONIANS 3:6-13
6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.
7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you,
8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you;
9 not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example.
10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.
11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.
12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.
13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.

JOHN 5:2-9
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes.
3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters;
4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.]
5 A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He *said to him, “Do you wish to get well?”
7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus *said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.”
9 Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.

PROVERBS 6:9-11
9 How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?
10 “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest”—
11 Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man.

PSALM 18
1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said, “I love You, O Lord, my strength.”
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.
5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.
7 Then the earth shook and quaked; And the foundations of the mountains were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up out of His nostrils, And fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet.
10 He rode upon a cherub and flew; And He sped upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire.
13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.
15 Then the channels of water appeared, And the foundations of the world were laid bare At Your rebuke, O Lord, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
16 He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.
20 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all His ordinances were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me.
23 I was also blameless with Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity.
24 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.
25 With the kind You show Yourself kind; With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
26 With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.
27 For You save an afflicted people, But haughty eyes You abase.
28 For You light my lamp; The Lord my God illumines my darkness.
29 For by You I can run upon a troop; And by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God,
32 The God who girds me with strength And makes my way blameless?
33 He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, And sets me upon my high places.
34 He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds me; And Your gentleness makes me great.
36 You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them, And I did not turn back until they were consumed.
38 I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise; They fell under my feet.
39 For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, And I destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried for help, but there was none to save, Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the contentions of the people; You have placed me as head of the nations; A people whom I have not known serve me.
44 As soon as they hear, they obey me; Foreigners submit to me.
45 Foreigners fade away, And come trembling out of their fortresses.
46 The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God of my salvation,
47 The God who executes vengeance for me, And subdues peoples under me.
48 He delivers me from my enemies; Surely You lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from the violent man.
49 Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord, And I will sing praises to Your name.
50 He gives great deliverance to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever.

PHILIPPIANS 4:19
19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

1 JOHN 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

JAMES 1:5
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

DEUTERONOMY 31:8
8 “The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

PSALM 37:23-24
23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord, And He delights in his way.
24 When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.

LANDMINE OF FEAR

NEHEMIAH 4:9
9 But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night.

NEHEMIAH 4:11-15
11 Our enemies said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them and put a stop to the work.”
12 When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,”
13 then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I stationed the people in families with their swords, spears and bows.
14 When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.”
15 When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work.

ISAIAH 41: 10-13
10 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11 “Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
12 “You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
13 “For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’

2 TIMOTHY 1:7-11
7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,
9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,
10 but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
11 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.

EPHESIANS 1:13-19
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,
16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might

PSALM 27:1
1 A Psalm of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?

PSALM 27:3
3 Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.

PSALM 46:1-2
1 For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A Song. God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;

LANDMINE OF COMPROMISE

GENESIS 3
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ”
4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!
5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life;
15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
16 To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.” 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.
18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
20 Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—
23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.
24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

2 THESSALONIANS 3:13
13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.

EPHESIANS 1:4
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love

1 PETER 1:15-16
15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;
16 because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

ISAIAH 53:6
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

1 JOHN 2:15-17
15 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.
16 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.
17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:17
17 pray without ceasing;

LANDMINE OF JEALOUSY

JOHN 21: 20-22
20 Peter, turning around, *saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”
21 So Peter seeing him *said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?”
22 Jesus *said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”

LUKE 9: 46-48
46 An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest.
47 But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side,
48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

GENESIS 37: 1-11
1 Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.
2 These are the records of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic.
4 His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.
5 Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.
6 He said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have had;
7 for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.”
8 Then his brothers said to him, “Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
9 Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, “Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10 He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?”
11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

JAMES 3:13-18
13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

HIDDEN THREATS

1 CORINTHIANS 10:13
13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

PSALMS 139: 11-12
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.

PROVERBS 8:13
13 “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.

PROVERBS 16:18-19
18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
19 It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud.

PROVERBS 29:23
23 A man’s pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.

DANIEL 4:24-33
24 this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king:
25 that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.
26 ‘And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules.
27 ‘Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.’ 28 “All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king.
29 “Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon.
30 “The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’
31 “While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you,
32 and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’
33 “Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

ELIJAH'S LAST DAY

ACTS 7:55-60
55 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;
56 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse.
58 When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”
60 Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.

2 KINGS 2:1-6
1 And it came about when the Lord was about to take up Elijah by a whirlwind to heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here please, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
3 Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know; be still.”
4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.
5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be still.”
6 Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” And he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

2 KINGS 2:11-14
11 As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.
12 Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
14 He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.

2 TIMOTHY 4:1-7
1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;

PAYDAY SOMEDAY

1 KINGS 20:43
43 So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and vexed, and came to Samaria.

1 KINGS 21:4-7
4 So Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and ate no food.
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating food?”
6 So he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you a vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ”
7 Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now reign over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

DEUTERONOMY 17:18-20
18 “Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.
19 “It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes,
20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.

PSALM 11
1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. In the Lord I take refuge; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain;
2 For, behold, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string To shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
3 If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?”
4 The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.
7 For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.

1 KINGS 21:27-29
27 It came about when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently.
28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
29 “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son’s days.”

ELISHA RECEIVES A CALL

EXODUS 3:1-10
1 Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
3 So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.”
4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
6 He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings.
8 “So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.
9 “Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10 “Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”

1 SAMUEL 16:11-13
11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.”
12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.”
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

NEHEMIAH 1:11
11 “O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.” Now I was the cupbearer to the king.

NEHEMIAH 2:5
5 I said to the king, “If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”

MATTHEW 4:18-20
18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
19 And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

MATTHEW 9:9
9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He *said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

LUKE 18:29-30
29 And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
30 who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life.”

Mark 7:10-13
10 “For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to be put to death’;
11 but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’
12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother;
13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

John 19:25-27
25 Therefore the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He *said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”
27 Then He *said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.

Luke 9:23-24
23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
24 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.

PROPHET ON THE RUN

PSALM 42
1 For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
5 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence.
6 O my God, my soul is in despair within me; Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.

1 KINGS 19:1-4
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”
3 And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.”

MARK 6:31
31 And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)

1 KINGS 19:9-10
9 Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

1 KINGS 19:11-13
11 So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
12 After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.
13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

OBADIAH: A GOOD MAN IN A HARD PLACE

OBADIAH
THEME: Edom—destruction; and Israel—restoration

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament—only twenty–one verses. There are many folk who feel that this book is not worth reading and that if it were omitted from the Bible, it would not be missed. However, the brevity of the message does not render it less important or less significant. Like the other Minor Prophets, the message is primary, it is pertinent, it is practical, and it is poignant. It is a message that can be geared into this day in which we are living.
None of these so–called Minor Prophets are extinct volcanoes; rather, they are distinct action. There is no cold ash in any of them; they are spewing hot lava. Obadiah’s prophecy is of devastating judgment against the little kingdom of Edom.

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1 KINGS 18:1-15
1 Now it happened after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth.”
2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria.
3 Ahab called Obadiah who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly;
4 for when Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water.)
5 Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys; perhaps we will find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not have to kill some of the cattle.”
6 So they divided the land between them to survey it; Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself.
7 Now as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him, and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is this you, Elijah my master?”
8 He said to him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’ ”
9 He said, “What sin have I committed, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to put me to death?
10 “As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to search for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you.
11 “And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here.” ’
12 “It will come about when I leave you that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you where I do not know; so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth.
13 “Has it not been told to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, that I hid a hundred prophets of the Lord by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water?
14 “And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here” ’; he will then kill me.”
15 Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”

JOHN 21:20-22
20 Peter, turning around, ‍*‍saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”
21 So Peter seeing him ‍*‍said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?”
22 Jesus ‍*‍said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”


DEUTERONOMY 30:19-20
19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,
20 by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

JOSHUA 24:15
15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

PSALM 119:29-30
29 Remove the false way from me, And graciously grant me Your law.
30 I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me.

JOHN 3:36
36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

HEBREWS 11:24-25
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,

1 KINGS 18:22-24
22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.
23 “Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it.
24 “Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people said, “That is a good idea.”

1KINGS 18:28-29
28 So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them.
29 When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.

1KINGS 18:36-37
36 At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word.
37 “Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.

1 KINGS 18:41-46
41 Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.”
42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he crouched down on the earth and put his face between his knees.
43 He said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go back” seven times.
44 It came about at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, a cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.’ ”
45 In a little while the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.
46 Then the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel.

EMPTY BARREL GRADUATE SCHOOL

1KINGS 17:13-14
13 Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son.
14 “For thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.’ ”

PROVERBS 16:1-9
1 The plans of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, But the Lord weighs the motives.
3 Commit your works to the Lord And your plans will be established.
4 The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil. 5 Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.
6 By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil.
7 When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
8 Better is a little with righteousness Than great income with injustice.
9 The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

MATTHEWS 5:45
45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

JOB 2:10
10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.


ROMANS 8:31-39
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;
34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-9
7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!
8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.
9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

DRY BROOK UNIVERSITY

ISAIAH 55:8-11
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

MATTHEW 6:25-34
25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27 “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
28 “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
30 “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
31 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’
32 “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

LUKE 12:16-25
16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive.
17 “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
19 ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” ’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’
21 “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
22 And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.
23 “For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
24 “Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the
birds!
25 “And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span?

ECCLESIASTES 3:1-11
1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—
2 A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.
5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.
9 What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?
10 I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.
11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

GOD'S MOUNTAIN MAN

1 KINGS 12:26-33
26 Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David.
27 “If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”
28 So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
29 He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 And he made houses on high places, and made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi.
32 Jeroboam instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast which is in Judah, and he went up to the altar; thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
33 Then he went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised in his own heart; and he instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and went up to the altar to burn incense.

ROMANS 5:8
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

GALATIANS 4:4-5
4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

EPHESIANS 2:3-5
3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

JAMES 5:17
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.

ISAIAH 51:7-8
7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings.
8 “For the moth will eat them like a garment, And the grub will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation to all generations.”

JEREMIAH 17:7-8
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord And whose trust is the Lord.
8 “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.

SUFFERING: THE SACRIFICE OF CHRISTIAN HEDONISM

1 CORINTHIANS 4:10-13
10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor.
11 To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless;
12 and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure;
13 when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.

2 CORINTHIANS 11:23-28
23 Are they servants of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death.
24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.
26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;
27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.

ROMANS 12:12
12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,

2 CORINTHIANS 12:9-10
9 And He has said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

REVELATIONS 12:10-12
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.
11 “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
12 “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”

PHILIPPIANS 1:12-18
12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,
13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else,
14 and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.
15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will;
16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;
17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,

1THESSALONIANS 1:6-7
6 You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

MARRIAGE & MISSIONS: A MATRIX FOR CHRISTIAN HEDINISM & THE BATTLE CRY OF CHRISTIAN HEDONISM

MATTHEW 7:12
12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

MARK 10: 17-31
17 As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.
19 “You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ”
20 And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.”
21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
22 But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.
23 And Jesus, looking around, ‍*‍said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus ‍*‍answered again and ‍*‍said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
25 “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 They were even more astonished and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Looking at them, Jesus ‍*‍said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”
28 Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.”
29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake,
30 but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.
31 “But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

LUKE 21:12-18
12 “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. 13 “It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.
14 “So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;
15 for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
16 “But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death,
17 and you will be hated by all because of My name.
18 “Yet not a hair of your head will perish.

LOVE: THE LABOR OF CHRISTIAN HEDONISM

2 CORINTHIANS 4:8-12
8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
12 So death works in us, but life in you.

1 JOHN 4:7-8
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

2 CORINTHIANS 9:7
7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

HEBREWS 10:32-35
32 But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings,
33 partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.
34 For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.
35 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

HEBREWS 2:10
10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.