I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the desolate pit,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the LORD.
Happy are those who make
the LORD their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after false gods.
You have multiplied, O LORD my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward
us;
none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
they would be more than can be counted.
Do not, O LORD, withhold
your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
keep me safe forever.
For evils have encompassed me
without number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
until I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.
Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;
O LORD, make haste to help me.
Let all those be put to shame and confusion
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to
dishonor
who desire my hurt.
Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, "Aha, Aha!"
But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, "Great is the
LORD!"
As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the LORD takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God.
Psalm 40:1-5, 11-17
I love the LORD, because he has heard
my voice and my supplications.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
Then I called on the name of the LORD:
"O LORD, I pray, save my life!"
Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
The LORD protects the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
Return, O my soul, to your rest,
for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
Psalm 116:1-7
Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
Those who linger late over wine,
those who keep trying mixed wines.
Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
At the last it bites like a serpent,
and stings like an adder.
Your eyes will see strange things,
and your mind utter perverse things.
You will be like one who lies down in the midst
of the sea,
like one who lies on the top of a mast.
"They struck me," you will say,
"but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I will seek another drink."
Proverbs 23:29-35
From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a
human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human
point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in
Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see,
everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to
himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of
reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to
himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting
the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for
Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on
behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to
be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
You were taught to put away your former way of
life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be
renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with
the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true
righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24
But who can detect their errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from the
insolent;
do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of
my heart
be acceptable to you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 19:12-14
I call upon you, O LORD; come quickly to
me;
give ear to my voice when I call to you.
Let my prayer be counted as incense before
you,
and the lifting up of my hands as an evening
sacrifice.
Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
Do not turn my heart to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with those who work iniquity;
do not let me eat of their delicacies.
Let the righteous strike me;
let the faithful correct me.
Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my
head,
for my prayer is continually against their
wicked deeds.
When they are given over to those who shall
condemn them,
then they shall learn that my words were
pleasant.
Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters
on the land,
so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of
Sheol.
But my eyes are turned toward you, O God, my
LORD;
in you I seek refuge; do not leave me
defenseless.
Keep me from the trap that they have laid for
me,
and from the snares of evildoers.
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I alone escape.
Psalm 141
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from
the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for
forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during
those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said
to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become
a loaf of bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One
does not live by bread alone.'"
Then the devil led him up and showed him in an
instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him,
"To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it
has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you,
then, will worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered
him, "It is written,
'Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.'"
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and
placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you
are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,
'He will command his angels concerning
you,
to protect you,'
and
'On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a
stone.'"
Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not
put the Lord your God to the test.'" When the devil had finished
every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:1-13
For the one who sanctifies and those who are
sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed
to call them brothers and sisters, saying,
"I will proclaim your name to my brothers
and sisters,
in the midst of the congregation I will praise
you."
And again,
"I will put my trust in him."
And again,
"Here am I and the children whom God has
given me."
Since, therefore, the children share flesh and
blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through
death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is,
the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by
the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help
angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become
like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a
merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a
sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself
was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are
being tested.
Hebrews 2:11-18
Since, then, we have a great high priest who
has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold
fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is
unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in
every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us
therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may
receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:14-16
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus
Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:
Greetings.
My brothers and sisters, whenever you face
trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know
that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance
have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking
in nothing.
If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God,
who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given
you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like
a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter,
being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to
receive anything from the Lord.
Let the believer who is lowly boast in being
raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will
disappear like a flower in the field. For the sun rises with its
scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its
beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a
busy life, they will wither away.
Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such
a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the
Lord has promised to those who love him. No one, when tempted, should
say, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted
by evil and he himself tempts no one. But one is tempted by one's own
desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has
conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully
grown, gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my beloved.
Every generous act of giving, with every
perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In
fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth,
so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
James 1:12-18
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