Satan’s Candy Store

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. (1 Peter 4:1)

First it puzzles. Did Christ have to cease from sin? No! “He committed no sin” (1 Peter 2:22).

Then it clicks. When we arm ourselves with the thought that Christ suffered for us, we realize that we died with him. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24). When we die with him, we cease to sin.

It’s just like Romans 6. “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. . . . So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:6–7, 11).

Peter says, “Arm yourselves with this thought!”

Paul says, “Consider yourselves dead!”

The weapon for our warfare against sin is this thought — this consideration.

When the temptations of Satan come — to lust, to steal, to lie, to covet, to envy, to retaliate, to put down, to fear — arm yourself with this thought: When my Lord suffered and died to free me from sin, I died to sin!

When Satan says to you, Why deny yourself the pleasure of lust? Why deal with this mess, which you could avoid by lying? Why not go ahead and get that harmless luxury you covet? Why not seek justice by returning the same hurt you just received?

Answer him: The Son of God suffered (really suffered!) to deliver me from sinning. I cannot believe he suffered to make me miserable. Therefore, what he died to purchase must be more wonderful than the pleasures of sin. Since I trust him, my susceptibility to your allurements has shriveled up and died.

Satan, be gone! My mouth doesn’t drool any more when I walk by your candy store.

John Piper 

The Father’s Heart on Display

“Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.’” GENESIS 22:4-5

 

PONDER THIS

Abraham and Isaac came to a point beyond which the others couldn’t go. The others were told to stay back while father and son went to commune together. This reminds us of the darkness of Gethsemane where Jesus left Peter, James, John, and the other disciples and went alone to commune with His Father as He faced Calvary. In Genesis 22:7, Isaac looked at his father. In Abraham’s hands were a torch and a knife. Isaac could read his father’s face. He began to realize what was about to happen. Think of what must have been going through Isaac’s heart as he saw his father go up without a lamb to that place of sacrifice. Think of what must have been in Abraham’s heart.

When my first son was born, I ceased to think so much of the love of Jesus, and I thought more of the love of the Father. Though both are infinite in their love, I thought how it must have moved the Father’s heart to give His only Son to die upon the cross. Think how much the Lord Jesus suffered. Think how much God the Father suffered. But they both did so willingly, for our sake.

How does today’s devotion remind you of the Father’s heart for you?

How does it change your perspective to think of the Christian life not solely as a duty to be lived out, but as a relationship with the perfect loving Father?

PRACTICE THIS

Spend some time today reflecting on the Father’s love for you. Spend time on a prayer walk or write out a prayer of adoration to your Father.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

March 22

Matthew 27:45-56

[45] Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. [46] And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” [47] And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” [48] And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. [49] But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” [50] And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

[51] And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. [52] The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, [53] and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. [54] When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

[55] There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, [56] among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Romans 14

[1] As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. [2] One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. [3] Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. [4] Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

[5] One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. [6] The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. [7] For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. [8] For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. [9] For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

[10] Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; [11] for it is written, 

    “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,

        and every tongue shall confess to God.”

    [12] So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

[13] Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. [14] I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. [15] For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. [16] So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. [17] For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. [18] Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. [19] So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

[20] Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. [21] It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. [22] The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. [23] But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

Psalm 69:1-18

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. Of David.

    [1] Save me, O God!

        For the waters have come up to my neck. 

    [2] I sink in deep mire,

        where there is no foothold;

    I have come into deep waters,

        and the flood sweeps over me. 

    [3] I am weary with my crying out;

        my throat is parched.

    My eyes grow dim

        with waiting for my God.

    [4] More in number than the hairs of my head

        are those who hate me without cause;

    mighty are those who would destroy me,

        those who attack me with lies.

    What I did not steal

        must I now restore? 

    [5] O God, you know my folly;

        the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

    [6] Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,

        O Lord GOD of hosts;

    let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me,

        O God of Israel. 

    [7] For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach,

        that dishonor has covered my face. 

    [8] I have become a stranger to my brothers,

        an alien to my mother’s sons.

    [9] For zeal for your house has consumed me,

        and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. 

    [10] When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting,

        it became my reproach. 

    [11] When I made sackcloth my clothing,

        I became a byword to them. 

    [12] I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,

        and the drunkards make songs about me.

    [13] But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD.

        At an acceptable time, O God,

        in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness. 

    [14] Deliver me

        from sinking in the mire;

    let me be delivered from my enemies

        and from the deep waters. 

    [15] Let not the flood sweep over me,

        or the deep swallow me up,

        or the pit close its mouth over me.

    [16] Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good;

        according to your abundant mercy, turn to me. 

    [17] Hide not your face from your servant,

        for I am in distress; make haste to answer me. 

    [18] Draw near to my soul, redeem me;

        ransom me because of my enemies!

Deuteronomy 27

[1] Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep the whole commandment that I command you today. [2] And on the day you cross over the Jordan to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. [3] And you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you. [4] And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. [5] And there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You shall wield no iron tool on them; [6] you shall build an altar to the LORD your God of uncut stones. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God, [7] and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and shall eat there, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God. [8] And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.”

[9] Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel: this day you have become the people of the LORD your God. [10] You shall therefore obey the voice of the LORD your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.”

[11] That day Moses charged the people, saying, [12] “When you have crossed over the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. [13] And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. [14] And the Levites shall declare to all the men of Israel in a loud voice:

[15] “‘Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the LORD, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’

[16] “‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

[17] “‘Cursed be anyone who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

[18] “‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

[19] “‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

[20] “‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s nakedness.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

[21] “‘Cursed be anyone who lies with any kind of animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

[22] “‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

[23] “‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

[24] “‘Cursed be anyone who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

[25] “‘Cursed be anyone who takes a bribe to shed innocent blood.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

[26] “‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

Deuteronomy 28

[1] “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. [2] And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. [3] Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. [4] Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. [5] Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. [6] Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

[7] “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. [8] The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. [9] The LORD will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. [10] And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you. [11] And the LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. [12] The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. [13] And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, [14] and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

[15] “But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. [16] Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. [17] Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. [18] Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. [19] Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

[20] “The LORD will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. [21] The LORD will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. [22] The LORD will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. [23] And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. [24] The LORD will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

[25] “The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. [26] And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away. [27] The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. [28] The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, [29] and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you. [30] You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit. [31] Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat any of it. Your donkey shall be seized before your face, but shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given to your enemies, but there shall be no one to help you. [32] Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all day long, but you shall be helpless. [33] A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually, [34] so that you are driven mad by the sights that your eyes see. [35] The LORD will strike you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.

[36] “The LORD will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. [37] And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the LORD will lead you away. [38] You shall carry much seed into the field and shall gather in little, for the locust shall consume it. [39] You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them. [40] You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives shall drop off. [41] You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for they shall go into captivity. [42] The cricket shall possess all your trees and the fruit of your ground. [43] The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. [44] He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him. He shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.

[45] “All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. [46] They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. [47] Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, [48] therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you. [49] The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand, [50] a hard-faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young. [51] It shall eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; it also shall not leave you grain, wine, or oil, the increase of your herds or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.

[52] “They shall besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land. And they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land, which the LORD your God has given you. [53] And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you. [54] The man who is the most tender and refined among you will begrudge food to his brother, to the wife he embraces, and to the last of the children whom he has left, [55] so that he will not give to any of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because he has nothing else left, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your towns. [56] The most tender and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because she is so delicate and tender, will begrudge to the husband she embraces, to her son and to her daughter, [57] her afterbirth that comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears, because lacking everything she will eat them secretly, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in your towns.

[58] “If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the LORD your God, [59] then the LORD will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting. [60] And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. [61] Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the LORD will bring upon you, until you are destroyed. [62] Whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, you shall be left few in number, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God. [63] And as the LORD took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

[64] “And the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. [65] And among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but the LORD will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul. [66] Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life. [67] In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and at evening you shall say, ‘If only it were morning!’ because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and the sights that your eyes shall see. [68] And the LORD will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that you should never make again; and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”

God’s Best Promise

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

The most far-reaching promise of God’s future grace is found in Romans 8:32. This is the most precious verse in the Bible to me. Part of the reason is that the promise in it is so all-encompassing that it stands ready to help me at virtually every turn in my life and ministry. There never has been, and never will be, a circumstance in my life where this promise is irrelevant.

By itself that all-encompassing promise would probably not make the verse most precious. There are other such sweeping promises such as Psalm 84:11: “No good thing does [God] withhold from those who walk uprightly.” And 1 Corinthians 3:21–23: “All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future — all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” It is difficult to overstate the spectacular sweep and scope of these promises.

But what puts Romans 8:32 in a class by itself is the logic that gives rise to the promise and makes it as solid and unshakable as God’s love for his infinitely admirable Son.

Romans 8:32 contains a foundation and guarantee that is so strong and so solid and so secure that there is absolutely no possibility that the promise could ever be broken. This is what makes it an ever-present strength in times of great turmoil. Whatever else gives way, whatever else disappoints, whatever else fails, this all-encompassing promise of future grace can never fail.

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all . . . ” That’s the foundation. If this is true, says the logic of heaven, then God will, with absolute certainty, give all things to those for whom he gave his Son!

John Piper 

Trusting God with What Matters Most

“Concluding that God was able to raise him [Isaac] up, even from the dead, from which he [Abraham] also received him in a figurative sense.” HEBREWS 11:19

 

PONDER THIS

Abraham took Isaac and started up Mount Moriah to offer his son. How was he able to do that? Hebrews 11:19 says he was “concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.” In Abraham’s mind, Isaac was dead for three days. From the day that God said, “Abraham, take him and offer him,” until the day that Abraham got him back, he considered his son dead. In this way, Abraham received Isaac from the dead.

Now, what is the Gospel that you and I preach? Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and was raised again on the third day. (See 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.) God the Father received Jesus back literally. In this, we see that Isaac prefigured Jesus.

How are you encouraged in your faith when you see examples like Isaac, who pointed to the coming work of Jesus?

Why do examples like this matter in our faith and life?

PRACTICE THIS

List any other examples you know from the Old Testament where events or individuals foreshadowed the life of Christ.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

March 21

Matthew 27:27-44

[27] Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. [28] And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, [29] and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” [30] And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. [31] And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

[32] As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. [33] And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), [34] they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. [35] And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. [36] Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. [37] And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” [38] Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. [39] And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads [40] and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” [41] So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, [42] “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. [43] He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” [44] And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

Romans 13

[1] Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. [2] Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. [3] For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, [4] for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. [5] Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. [6] For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. [7] Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

[8] Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. [9] For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” [10] Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

[11] Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. [12] The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. [13] Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. [14] But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Psalm 68

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.

    [1] God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;

        and those who hate him shall flee before him! 

    [2] As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;

        as wax melts before fire,

        so the wicked shall perish before God! 

    [3] But the righteous shall be glad;

        they shall exult before God;

        they shall be jubilant with joy!

    [4] Sing to God, sing praises to his name;

        lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;

    his name is the LORD;

        exult before him! 

    [5] Father of the fatherless and protector of widows

        is God in his holy habitation. 

    [6] God settles the solitary in a home;

        he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,

        but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

    [7] O God, when you went out before your people,

        when you marched through the wilderness, Selah 

    [8] the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,

        before God, the One of Sinai,

        before God, the God of Israel. 

    [9] Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;

        you restored your inheritance as it languished; 

    [10] your flock found a dwelling in it;

        in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

    [11] The Lord gives the word;

        the women who announce the news are a great host: 

    [12]     “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”

    The women at home divide the spoil—

    [13]     though you men lie among the sheepfolds—

    the wings of a dove covered with silver,

        its pinions with shimmering gold. 

    [14] When the Almighty scatters kings there,

        let snow fall on Zalmon.

    [15] O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;

        O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan! 

    [16] Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,

        at the mount that God desired for his abode,

        yes, where the LORD will dwell forever? 

    [17] The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,

        thousands upon thousands;

        the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary. 

    [18] You ascended on high,

        leading a host of captives in your train

        and receiving gifts among men,

    even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.

    [19] Blessed be the Lord,

        who daily bears us up;

        God is our salvation. Selah 

    [20] Our God is a God of salvation,

        and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death. 

    [21] But God will strike the heads of his enemies,

        the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways. 

    [22] The Lord said,

        “I will bring them back from Bashan,

    I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, 

    [23] that you may strike your feet in their blood,

        that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”

    [24] Your procession is seen, O God,

        the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—

    [25] the singers in front, the musicians last,

        between them virgins playing tambourines: 

    [26] “Bless God in the great congregation,

        the LORD, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!” 

    [27] There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,

        the princes of Judah in their throng,

        the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

    [28] Summon your power, O God,

        the power, O God, by which you have worked for us. 

    [29] Because of your temple at Jerusalem

        kings shall bear gifts to you. 

    [30] Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,

        the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.

    Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;

        scatter the peoples who delight in war. 

    [31] Nobles shall come from Egypt;

        Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.

    [32] O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;

        sing praises to the Lord, Selah 

    [33] to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;

        behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. 

    [34] Ascribe power to God,

        whose majesty is over Israel,

        and whose power is in the skies. 

    [35] Awesome is God from his sanctuary;

        the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.

    Blessed be God!

Deuteronomy 22

[1] “You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother. [2] And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him. [3] And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother’s, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it. [4] You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and ignore them. You shall help him to lift them up again.

[5] “A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.

[6] “If you come across a bird’s nest in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. [7] You shall let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long.

[8] “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.

[9] “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. [10] You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. [11] You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.

[12] “You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.

[13] “If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then hates her [14] and accuses her of misconduct and brings a bad name upon her, saying, ‘I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her evidence of virginity,’ [15] then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. [16] And the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to marry, and he hates her; [17] and behold, he has accused her of misconduct, saying, “I did not find in your daughter evidence of virginity.” And yet this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloak before the elders of the city. [18] Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip him, [19] and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name upon a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife. He may not divorce her all his days. [20] But if the thing is true, that evidence of virginity was not found in the young woman, [21] then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done an outrageous thing in Israel by whoring in her father’s house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

[22] “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.

[23] “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, [24] then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

[25] “But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. [26] But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor, [27] because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her.

[28] “If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, [29] then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.

[30]  “A man shall not take his father’s wife, so that he does not uncover his father’s nakedness.

Deuteronomy 23

[1] “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the LORD.

[2] “No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD.

[3] “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the LORD forever, [4] because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. [5] But the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loved you. [6] You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.

[7] “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. [8] Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the LORD.

[9] “When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.

[10] “If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, [11] but when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp.

[12] “You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it. [13] And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. [14] Because the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.

[15] “You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. [16] He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.

[17] “None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute. [18] You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog into the house of the LORD your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God.

[19] “You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. [20] You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

[21] “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. [22] But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. [23] You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.

[24] “If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. [25] If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.

Deuteronomy 24

[1] “When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, [2] and if she goes and becomes another man’s wife, [3] and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, [4] then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the LORD. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance.

[5] “When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken.

[6] “No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge.

[7] “If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

[8] “Take care, in a case of leprous disease, to be very careful to do according to all that the Levitical priests shall direct you. As I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. [9] Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt.

[10] “When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge. [11] You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. [12] And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge. [13] You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before the LORD your God.

[14] “You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. [15] You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the LORD, and you be guilty of sin.

[16] “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.

[17] “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge, [18] but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.

[19] “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. [20] When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. [21] When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. [22] You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

Deuteronomy 25

[1] “If there is a dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty, [2] then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense. [3] Forty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight.

[4] “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.

[5] “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. [6] And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. [7] And if the man does not wish to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ [8] Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, ‘I do not wish to take her,’ [9] then his brother’s wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’ [10] And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.’

[11] “When men fight with one another and the wife of the one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of him who is beating him and puts out her hand and seizes him by the private parts, [12] then you shall cut off her hand. Your eye shall have no pity.

[13] “You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. [14] You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. [15] A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. [16] For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the LORD your God.

[17] “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, [18] how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. [19] Therefore when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.

Deuteronomy 26

[1] “When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, [2] you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. [3] And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’ [4] Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God.

[5] “And you shall make response before the LORD your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. [6] And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor. [7] Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. [8] And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders. [9] And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. [10] And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O LORD, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the LORD your God and worship before the LORD your God. [11] And you shall rejoice in all the good that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.

[12] “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, [13] then you shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. [14] I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. [15] Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’

[16] “This day the LORD your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. [17] You have declared today that the LORD is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice. [18] And the LORD has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, [19] and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.”