The Daily Practice

13 See, my servant will act wisely[a];     he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. 14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him[b]—     his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being     and his form marred beyond human likeness— 15 so he will sprinkle many nations,[c]     and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see,     and what they have not heard, they will understand.

53 Who has believed our message     and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,     and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,     nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,     a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces     he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain     and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God,     stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,     he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him,     and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,     each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him     the iniquity of us all.

1 I cried out to God for help;     I cried out to God to hear me. 2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;     at night I stretched out untiring hands,     and I would not be comforted.

3 I remembered you, God, and I groaned;     I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.[b] 4 You kept my eyes from closing;     I was too troubled to speak. 5 I thought about the former days,     the years of long ago; 6 I remembered my songs in the night.     My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

7 “Will the Lord reject forever?     Will he never show his favor again? 8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever?     Has his promise failed for all time? 9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?     Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”

10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:     the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. 11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;     yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. 12 I will consider all your works     and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

4 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant[a] in the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our[b] circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9 He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.

10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews[c] among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13 I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.

16 After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.

17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”

18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

1 God is renowned in Judah;     in Israel his name is great. 2 His tent is in Salem,     his dwelling place in Zion. 3 There he broke the flashing arrows,     the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.[b]

4 You are radiant with light,     more majestic than mountains rich with game. 5 The valiant lie plundered,     they sleep their last sleep; not one of the warriors     can lift his hands. 6 At your rebuke, God of Jacob,     both horse and chariot lie still.

7 It is you alone who are to be feared.     Who can stand before you when you are angry? 8 From heaven you pronounced judgment,     and the land feared and was quiet— 9 when you, God, rose up to judge,     to save all the afflicted of the land. 10 Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise,     and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.[c]

11 Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them;     let all the neighboring lands     bring gifts to the One to be feared. 12 He breaks the spirit of rulers;     he is feared by the kings of the earth.

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

You, Lord, showed favor to your land;     you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of your people     and covered all their sins. You set aside all your wrath     and turned from your fierce anger.

Restore us again, God our Savior,     and put away your displeasure toward us. Will you be angry with us forever?     Will you prolong your anger through all generations? Will you not revive us again,     that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your unfailing love, Lord,     and grant us your salvation.

I will listen to what God the Lord says;     he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—     but let them not turn to folly. Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,     that his glory may dwell in our land.

Love and faithfulness meet together;     righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,     and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good,     and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before him     and prepares the way for his steps.

Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Then the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

How lovely is your dwelling place,     Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints,     for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out     for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home,     and the swallow a nest for herself,     where she may have her young— a place near your altar,     Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house;     they are ever praising you.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,     whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka,     they make it a place of springs;     the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength,     till each appears before God in Zion.

Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;     listen to me, God of Jacob. Look on our shield, O God;     look with favor on your anointed one.

Better is one day in your courts     than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God     than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and shield;     the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold     from those whose walk is blameless.

Lord Almighty,     blessed is the one who trusts in you.