September 10

39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.

40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."

41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed,

42 saying, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."

43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.

44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow,

46 and he said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation." - Luke 22:39-46

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,

14 saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you."

15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.

16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.

17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,

18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,

20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. - Hebrews 6:13-20

1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you, 

2 and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite. 

3 Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food. 

4 Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. 

5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. 

6 Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, 

7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. "Eat and drink!" he says to you, but his heart is not with you. 

8 You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten, and waste your pleasant words. 

9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words. 

10 Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless, 

11 for their Redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you. 

12 Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge. 

13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. 

14 If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol. 

15 My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad. 

16 My inmost being will exult when your lips speak what is right. 

17 Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day. 

18 Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.  - Proverbs 23:1-18

1 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.

2 In that day, "A pleasant vineyard, sing of it! 

3 I, the LORD, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day; 

4 I have no wrath. Would that I had thorns and briers to battle! I would march against them, I would burn them up together. 

5 Or let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me." 

6 In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit. 

7 Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them? Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain? 

8 Measure by measure, by exile you contended with them; he removed them with his fierce breath in the day of the east wind. 

9 Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: when he makes all the stones of the altars like chalkstones crushed to pieces, no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing. 

10 For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness; there the calf grazes; there it lies down and strips its branches. 

11 When its boughs are dry, they are broken; women come and make a fire of them. For this is a people without discernment; therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them; he who formed them will show them no favor. 

12 In that day from the river Euphrates to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel.

13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem. - Isaiah 27

1 Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine! 

2 Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong; like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters, he casts down to the earth with his hand. 

3 The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot; 

4 and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, will be like a first-ripe fig before the summer: when someone sees it, he swallows it as soon as it is in his hand. 

5 In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people, 

6 and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. 

7 These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed by wine, they stagger with strong drink, they reel in vision, they stumble in giving judgment. 

8 For all tables are full of filthy vomit, with no space left. 

9 "To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast? 

10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little." 

11 For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the LORD will speak to this people, 

12 to whom he has said, "This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose"; yet they would not hear. 

13 And the word of the LORD will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. 

14 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem! 

15 Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter"; 

16 therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: 'Whoever believes will not be in haste.' 

17 And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter." 

18 Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be beaten down by it. 

19 As often as it passes through it will take you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be sheer terror to understand the message. 

20 For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on, and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in. 

21 For the LORD will rise up as on Mount Perazim; as in the Valley of Gibeon he will be roused; to do his deed-strange is his deed! and to work his work-alien is his work! 

22 Now therefore do not scoff, lest your bonds be made strong; for I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord GOD of hosts against the whole land. 

23 Give ear, and hear my voice; give attention, and hear my speech. 

24 Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground? 

25 When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cumin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and emmer as the border? 

26 For he is rightly instructed; his God teaches him. 

27 Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod. 

28 Does one crush grain for bread? No, he does not thresh it forever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it. 

29 This also comes from the LORD of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.  - Isaiah 28

You've Got 3 Ways to Get to Heaven

BIBLE MEDITATION

“…not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit…” Titus 3:5

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Theoretically, there are three ways you can get to Heaven:

Die before you reach the age of accountability. Precious little children who die before they know right from wrong go immediately to Heaven. Joyce and I have a little baby boy there. I confidently expect to meet our son Philip in Heaven. If you understand what I’m saying, that opportunity is passed for you.

Strike one.

Be perfect, never sin. Keep all the commandments perfectly. Never commit an evil deed or have an evil thought. If you could keep them, it would show you have no sinful nature; you wouldn't need to be saved. But no one can. Is there anyone reading this who has never sinned at all? 

Strike two. Since Genesis 3, we are born with a sin nature.

Give your heart to Jesus Christ. Receive Him and His death on Calvary as full payment for your sin.

You see, you already have two strikes against you when you come to the plate. Pass the age of accountability—Strike one. Commit a sin—Strike two. 

One last opportunity: Receive Jesus Christ. If you don't, Strike three—you're out. The Bible is clear: you can’t do anything to merit eternal life in and of yourself.

ACTION POINT

The only way to Heaven is to receive Christ as your personal Savior. Are you certain you’re saved, your sins forgiven? It’s not something you inherit by doing it; it’s a gift of God you receive by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Grace Must Be Free

What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (1 Corinthians 4:7)

Picture salvation as a house that you live in.

It provides you with protection. It is stocked with food and drink that will last forever. It never decays or crumbles. Its windows open onto vistas of all-satisfying glory.

God built it at great cost to himself and to his Son, and he gave it to you free and clear.

The “purchase” agreement is called a “new covenant.” The terms read: “This house shall become and remain yours if you will receive it as a gift and take delight in the Father and the Son as they inhabit the house with you. You shall not profane the house of God by sheltering other gods nor turn your heart away after other treasures, but find your contentment in the fellowship of God in this house.”

Would it not be foolish to say yes to this agreement, and then hire a lawyer to draw up an amortization schedule with monthly payments in the hopes of somehow balancing accounts and paying for the house?

You would be treating the house no longer as a gift, but a purchase. God would no longer be the free benefactor. And you would be enslaved to a new set of demands that he never dreamed of putting on you.

If grace is to be free — which is the very meaning of grace — we cannot view it as something to be repaid.

John Piper 

September 9

1 Behold, the LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants. 

2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. 

3 The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the LORD has spoken this word. 

4 The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the highest people of the earth languish. 

5 The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. 

6 Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left. 

7 The wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh. 

8 The mirth of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the jubilant has ceased, the mirth of the lyre is stilled. 

9 No more do they drink wine with singing; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. 

10 The wasted city is broken down; every house is shut up so that none can enter. 

11 There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine; all joy has grown dark; the gladness of the earth is banished. 

12 Desolation is left in the city; the gates are battered into ruins. 

13 For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done. 

14 They lift up their voices, they sing for joy; over the majesty of the LORD they shout from the west. 

15 Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 

16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One. But I say, "I waste away, I waste away. Woe is me! For the traitors have betrayed, with betrayal the traitors have betrayed." 

17 Terror and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth! 

18 He who flees at the sound of the terror shall fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. 

19 The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken. 

20 The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again. 

21 On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. 

22 They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished. 

23 Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the LORD of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders.  - Isaiah 24

1 O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. 

2 For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the foreigners' palace is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt. 

3 Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you. 

4 For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall, 

5 like heat in a dry place. You subdue the noise of the foreigners; as heat by the shade of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is put down. 

6 On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. 

7 And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 

8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. 

9 It will be said on that day, "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation." 

10 For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain, and Moab shall be trampled down in his place, as straw is trampled down in a dunghill. 

11 And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim, but the LORD will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill of his hands. 

12 And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down, lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.  - Isaiah 25

1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks. 

2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. 

3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. 

4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock. 

5 For he has humbled the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust. 

6 The foot tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy." 

7 The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous. 

8 In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. 

9 My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. 

10 If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the LORD. 

11 O LORD, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed. Let the fire for your adversaries consume them. 

12 O LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works. 

13 O LORD our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone we bring to remembrance. 

14 They are dead, they will not live; they are shades, they will not arise; to that end you have visited them with destruction and wiped out all remembrance of them. 

15 But you have increased the nation, O LORD, you have increased the nation; you are glorified; you have enlarged all the borders of the land. 

16 O LORD, in distress they sought you; they poured out a whispered prayer when your discipline was upon them. 

17 Like a pregnant woman who writhes and cries out in her pangs when she is near to giving birth, so were we because of you, O LORD; 

18 we were pregnant, we writhed, but we have given birth to wind. We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth, and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen. 

19 Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. 

20 Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by. 

21 For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no more cover its slain.  - Isaiah 26

17 Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge, 

18 for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips. 

19 That your trust may be in the LORD, I have made them known to you today, even to you. 

20 Have I not written for you thirty sayings of counsel and knowledge, 

21 to make you know what is right and true, that you may give a true answer to those who sent you? 

22 Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, 

23 for the LORD will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them. 

24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, 

25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. 

26 Be not one of those who give pledges, who put up security for debts. 

27 If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you? 

28 Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set. 

29 Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.  - Proverbs 22:17-29

1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

3 And this we will do if God permits.

4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit,

5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,

6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.

8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things-things that belong to salvation.

10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.

11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end,

12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. - Hebrews 6:1-12

31 "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,

32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."

33 Peter said to him, "Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death."

34 Jesus said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me."

35 And he said to them, "When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?" They said, "Nothing."

36 He said to them, "But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.

37 For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors.' For what is written about me has its fulfillment."

38 And they said, "Look, Lord, here are two swords." And he said to them, "It is enough." - Luke 22:31-38

Stop Agonizing Over if You Are Strong Enough

BIBLE MEDITATION

“Then they remembered that God was their rock and the Most High God their Redeemer.” Psalm 78:35

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

It’s amazing—the things the devil will try just to get you to examine yourself and start doubting. You say, "Well, I know I'm saved.” The devil replies, "No, you're not." "Why? Why am I not saved? I believe in Jesus." "Oh, yeah, a person’s saved by faith in Jesus,” the devil says, “but YOUR faith isn’t good enough."

Has that devil ever pulled that on you? "You don't believe enough. Your faith isn’t strong enough. Your faith is such a low-class faith, if it's faith at all, it's not going to get you there because you're not a true believer."

Now, how are you going to argue with the devil over that?

Here's how I do it: When the devil tells me, "Adrian Rogers, your faith is no good," you know what I say? "That's right, but isn't Jesus wonderful?"

See? "Isn't Jesus wonderful!" I'm not putting faith in faith; I'm putting faith in Jesus.

ACTION POINT

Sometimes we hear sermons on "saving faith." There's no such thing. Faith doesn't save you; Jesus does. It’s “by grace, through faith” (See Ephesians 2:8). Faith is necessary for salvation, but you’re saved by Jesus! How much faith does it take? Just enough to say, "Lord, I trust You.” Stop agonizing over whether your faith is strong enough. Instead, when doubts arise say, “Lord, I trust You.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How to Repay God

What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, I will pay my vows to the Lord. (Psalm 116:12–14)

The very use of the language “rendering to God for all his benefits to me” makes me nervous. Payback can so easily imply that grace is like a mortgage. It’s really generous, but you have to pay it back.

Paul said in Acts 17:25, God is not “served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” In other words, you can’t give anything to God or do anything for God that he hasn’t first given to you and done for you.

You see this again in 1 Corinthians 15:10, “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” So none of our work can ever be a payment to God, because the very work is another gift from God. With every deed we do for God we go deeper into debt to grace.

So in Psalm 116 what keeps the paying of vows free from the dangers of being treated like a debt payment is that the “payment” is, in reality, not an ordinary payment, but another act of receiving which magnifies the ongoing grace of God. It does not magnify our resourcefulness.

The psalmist’s answer to his own question, “What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits?” is, “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” In other words, I call on the Lord to fill the cup. To pay back the Lord means to go on receiving from the Lord so that the Lord’s inexhaustible goodness will be magnified.

Lifting up the cup of salvation signifies taking the Lord’s satisfying salvation in hand and drinking it and expecting more. We know this because of the next phrase: “I will . . . call on the name of the Lord.” I will call for more help. What shall I render to God for graciously answering my call? Answer: I shall call again. I will render to God the praise and the tribute that he is never in need of me, but is always overflowing with benefits when I need him (which I always do).

Then the psalmist says, in the third place, “I will pay my vows to the Lord.” But how will they be paid? They will be paid by holding up the cup of salvation and by calling on the Lord. That is, they will be paid by faith in the promise that more grace — all-sufficient grace — is always on the way.

John Piper 

September 8

24 A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.

25 And he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors.

26 But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.

27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

28 "You are those who have stayed with me in my trials,

29 and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom,

30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. - Luke 22:24-30

1 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.

3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.

4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"; 

6 as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." 

7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.

8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.

9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,

13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.

14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. - Hebrews 5

1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. 

2 The rich and the poor meet together; the LORD is the Maker of them all. 

3 The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. 

4 The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life. 

5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them. 

6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. 

7 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender. 

8 Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail. 

9 Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor. 

10 Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease. 

11 He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend. 

12 The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the traitor. 

13 The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!" 

14 The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit; he with whom the LORD is angry will fall into it. 

15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. 

16 Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.  - Proverbs 22:1-16

1 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on, it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land. 

2 A stern vision is told to me; the traitor betrays, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, O Elam; lay siege, O Media; all the sighing she has caused I bring to an end. 

3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see. 

4 My heart staggers; horror has appalled me; the twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. 

5 They prepare the table, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink. Arise, O princes; oil the shield! 

6 For thus the Lord said to me: "Go, set a watchman; let him announce what he sees. 

7 When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, let him listen diligently, very diligently." 

8 Then he who saw cried out: "Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord, continually by day, and at my post I am stationed whole nights. 

9 And behold, here come riders, horsemen in pairs!" And he answered, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods he has shattered to the ground." 

10 O my threshed and winnowed one, what I have heard from the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, I announce to you. 

11 The oracle concerning Dumah. One is calling to me from Seir, "Watchman, what time of the night? Watchman, what time of the night?" 

12 The watchman says: "Morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; come back again." 

13 The oracle concerning Arabia. In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge, O caravans of Dedanites. 

14 To the thirsty bring water; meet the fugitive with bread, O inhabitants of the land of Tema. 

15 For they have fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the press of battle. 

16 For thus the Lord said to me, "Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end.

17 And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken." - Isaiah 21

1 The oracle concerning the valley of vision. What do you mean that you have gone up, all of you, to the housetops, 

2 you who are full of shoutings, tumultuous city, exultant town? Your slain are not slain with the sword or dead in battle. 

3 All your leaders have fled together; without the bow they were captured. All of you who were found were captured, though they had fled far away. 

4 Therefore I said: "Look away from me; let me weep bitter tears; do not labor to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people." 

5 For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains. 

6 And Elam bore the quiver with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. 

7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen took their stand at the gates. 

8 He has taken away the covering of Judah. In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest, 

9 and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool,

10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall.

11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.

12 In that day the Lord GOD of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth; 

13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." 

14 The LORD of hosts has revealed himself in my ears: "Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die," says the Lord GOD of hosts. 

15 Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, "Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him:

16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock?

17 Behold, the LORD will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you

18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be your glorious chariots, you shame of your master's house.

19 I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station.

20 In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,

21 and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

22 And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

23 And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father's house.

24 And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons.

25 In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken." - Isaiah 22

1 The oracle concerning Tyre. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor! From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them. 

2 Be still, O inhabitants of the coast; the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you. 

3 And on many waters your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; you were the merchant of the nations. 

4 Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying: "I have neither labored nor given birth, I have neither reared young men nor brought up young women." 

5 When the report comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish over the report about Tyre. 

6 Cross over to Tarshish; wail, O inhabitants of the coast! 

7 Is this your exultant city whose origin is from days of old, whose feet carried her to settle far away? 

8 Who has purposed this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth? 

9 The LORD of hosts has purposed it, to defile the pompous pride of all glory, to dishonor all the honored of the earth. 

10 Cross over your land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no restraint anymore. 

11 He has stretched out his hand over the sea; he has shaken the kingdoms; the LORD has given command concerning Canaan to destroy its strongholds. 

12 And he said: "You will no more exult, O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon; arise, cross over to Cyprus, even there you will have no rest." 

13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not; Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin.

14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste. 

15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:

16 "Take a harp; go about the city, O forgotten prostitute! Make sweet melody; sing many songs, that you may be remembered." 

17 At the end of seventy years, the LORD will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.

18 Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the LORD. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the LORD. - Isaiah 23