Daily Pause

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

8  Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.  9  Do not repay evil

with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may

inherit a blessing. 

13  Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?  14  But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are

blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.”  15  But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared

to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness

and respect,  16  keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may

be ashamed of their slander.  17  For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

1 Peter 3

4  For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the

Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. 5  May the God who gives endurance and

encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had,  6  so that with one mind and

one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7  Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 

13  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the

power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15

41  Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David.  42  He looked David over and

saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him.  43  He said to David, “Am

I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.  44  “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll

give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”

45  David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the

name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  46  This day the Lord will deliver you

into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and……. the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.  47  All those

gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give

all of you into our hands.”

48  As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.  49  Reaching into his

bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he

fell face down on the ground.

1 Samuel 17

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

Psalm 42

25 “To whom will you compare me?  Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no

longer any sea.  2  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a

bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  3  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place

is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be

their God.  4  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the

old order of things has passed away.”

5  He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words

are trustworthy and true.”

6  He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water

without cost from the spring of the water of life.  7  Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and

they will be my children.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of

God.  2  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  5  Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly

nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.  6  Because of these, the wrath of God is

coming  7  You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.  8  But now you must also rid yourselves of all such

things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  9  Do not lie to each other, since you have

taken off your old self with its practices  10  and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the

image of its Creator. 

12  Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,

humility, gentleness and patience.  13  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against

someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  14  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in

perfect unity.

9  For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,  10  and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the

head over every power and authority.  11  In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human

hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ,  12  having been buried with him

in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the

dead.

13  When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us

all our sins,  14  having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has

taken it away, nailing it to the cross.  15  And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of

them, triumphing over them by the cross

19  For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Christ,  20  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether

things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. 21  Once you were alienated

from God and were enemies in your minds because of  your evil behavior.  22  But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s

physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—  23  if you

continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. 

13  For God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,  14  in whom

we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.