Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind.
You shall not follow a crowd to do evil.
Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? § Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him … The world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
You once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. § You have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him … as the truth is in Jesus.
Rom. 12:2; Ex. 23:2; James 4:4; 2 Cor. 6:14–16;
1 John 2:15, 17; Eph. 2:2; 4:20–21
Man goes out to his work and to
his labor until the evening.
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground. § We commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. § Aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands.
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going. § The night is coming when no one can work.
Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. § Always [abound] in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
There remains … a rest for the people of God. § To us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day. § “This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest,” and, “This is the refreshing.”
Ps. 104:23; Gen. 3:19; 2 Thess. 3:10; 1 Thess. 4:11;
Eccl. 9:10; John 9:4; Gal. 6:9; 1 Cor. 15:58; Heb. 4:9; Matt. 20:12; Isa. 28:12
Trusting God to accomplish His primary purpose through our pain was eloquently expressed by the widow of Todd Beamer. Todd was a passenger on the fateful United Flight 93 when it was hijacked by suicide bombers on September 11, 2001. He and other passengers overpowered the hijackers, thwarting their use of the plane as a flying missile apparently aimed at the very heart of Washington, D.C. But the passengers were unable to prevent the plane from a nosedive crash into a vacant field in Pennsylvania, so September 11, 2001, was the date of Todd Beamer’s entrance into heaven. Lisa Beamer gave us a snapshot of her faith that is being developed through suffering when she told an interviewer, “God says, ‘I knew on September 10, and I could have stopped it, but I have a plan for greater good than you can ever imagine.’ I don’t know God’s plan, and, honestly, right now I don’t like it very much. But I trust that He is true to His promise in Romans 8:28.”
Thank you, Lisa, for trusting God when you don’t understand why!
I will give them one heart and one way,
that they may fear Me forever,
for the good of them and their children after them.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. § Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
I … beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness … endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Jer. 32:39; Ezek. 36:26; Ps. 25:8–10; John 17:21; Eph. 4:1–6
Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.
When I am weak, then I am strong. § My God shall be My strength. § He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. § Let him take hold of My strength.
Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you. § The arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob.
I will not let You go unless You bless me!
You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. § Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help.
Isa. 40:31; 2 Cor. 12:10; Isa. 49:5; 2 Cor. 12:9; Isa. 27:5;
Ps. 55:22; Gen. 49:24; 32:26; 1 Sam. 17:45; Ps. 35:1–2
“Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so” (Gen. 1:11, NIV).
I wonder what it would have been like to watch the bleak, barren, desolate planet suddenly softened with
spidery ferns,
exotic orchids,
weeping willow trees,
carpeted fields of grass,
until it was breathtakingly beautiful!
What does the land of your life look like? Is it drab and devoid of the real beauty of joy and happiness? Is it desolate from lack of love? Perhaps it is even ugly because of the scars of sin and suffering. If God, through the power of His Word, transformed Planet Earth into something that was beautiful, He can do the same for you. Ask Him for an extreme make-over!
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
You say, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing”— and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. § The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. § I am the Lord your God … open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. § I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
Luke 1:53; Rev. 3:17–19; Matt. 5:6;
Isa. 41:17; Ps. 81:10; Isa. 55:2; John 6:35
My feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.
If I say, “My foot slips,” Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.
The Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail.”
A righteous man may fall seven times and rise again. § Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand. Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. § He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.
If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. § Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Ps. 73:2; 94:18; Luke 22:31–32; Prov. 24:16;
Ps. 37:24; Mic. 7:8; Job 5:19; 1 John 2:1; Heb. 7:25
