Romans 14:13-23

[13]Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another. [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]If your brother or sister is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. [16]So do not let your good be spoken of as evil. [17]For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. [18]The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval. [19]Let us then 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 you to make others fall by what you eat; [21]it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble. [22]The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve. [23]But those who have doubts are condemned if they eat, because they do not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. 

Romans 14:1-12

[1]Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. [2]Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. [3]Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. [4]Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. 

[5]Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. [6]Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God. 

[7]We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. [8]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, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 

[10]Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? 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 give praise to God." [12]So then, each of us will be accountable to God. 

Psalm 51

[1]   Have mercy on me, O God,  

          according to your steadfast love;  

     according to your abundant mercy  

          blot out my transgressions.  

[2]   Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,  

          and cleanse me from my sin.

[3]   For I know my transgressions,  

          and my sin is ever before me.  

[4]   Against you, you alone, have I sinned,  

          and done what is evil in your sight,  

     so that you are justified in your sentence  

          and blameless when you pass judgment.  

[5]   Indeed, I was born guilty,  

          a sinner when my mother conceived me.

[6]   You desire truth in the inward being;  

          therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.  

[7]   Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;  

          wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  

[8]   Let me hear joy and gladness;  

          let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.  

[9]   Hide your face from my sins,  

          and blot out all my iniquities.

[10]  Create in me a clean heart, O God,  

          and put a new and right spirit within me.  

[11]  Do not cast me away from your presence,  

          and do not take your holy spirit from me.  

[12]  Restore to me the joy of your salvation,  

          and sustain in me a willing spirit.

[13]  Then I will teach transgressors your ways,  

          and sinners will return to you.  

[14]  Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,  

          O God of my salvation,  

          and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

[15]  O Lord, open my lips,  

          and my mouth will declare your praise.  

[16]  For you have no delight in sacrifice;  

          if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.  

[17]  The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;  

          a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

[18]  Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;  

          rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,  

[19]  then you will delight in right sacrifices,  

          in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;  

          then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Joshua 3:14-4:7

[14]When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people. [15]Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, [16]the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. [17]While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan. 

[1]When the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua: [2]"Select twelve men from the people, one from each tribe, [3]and command them, 'Take twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood, carry them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you camp tonight.'" [4]Then Joshua summoned the twelve men from the Israelites, whom he had appointed, one from each tribe. [5]Joshua said to them, "Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites, [6]so that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?' [7]then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial forever." 

 

Psalm 89

[1]   I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever;   
         with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations. 

[2]   I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;   
         your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

[3]   You said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one,   
         I have sworn to my servant David:   
[4]   'I will establish your descendants forever,   
         and build your throne for all generations.'"                   
Selah

[5]   Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,   
         your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.   
[6]   For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?   
         Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,   
[7]   a God feared in the council of the holy ones,   
         great and awesome above all that are around him?   
[8]   O LORD God of hosts,   
         who is as mighty as you, O LORD?   
         Your faithfulness surrounds you.   
[9]   You rule the raging of the sea;   
         when its waves rise, you still them.   
[10]  You crushed Rahab like a carcass;   
         you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.   
[11]  The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours;   
         the world and all that is in it -- you have founded them.   
[12]  The north and the south -- you created them;   
         Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.   
[13]  You have a mighty arm;   
         strong is your hand, high your right hand.   
[14]  Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;   
         steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.   
[15]  Happy are the people who know the festal shout,   
         who walk, O LORD, in the light of your countenance;   
[16]  they exult in your name all day long,   
         and extol your righteousness.   
[17]  For you are the glory of their strength;   
         by your favor our horn is exalted.   
[18]  For our shield belongs to the LORD,   
         our king to the Holy One of Israel.

Psalm 42:7-8

[7]   Deep calls to deep  

          at the thunder of your cataracts;  

     all your waves and your billows  

          have gone over me.  

[8]   By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,  

          and at night his song is with me,  

          a prayer to the God of my life.

Joshua 2:1-14

[1]Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and spent the night there. [2]The king of Jericho was told, "Some Israelites have come here tonight to search out the land." [3]Then the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come only to search out the whole land." [4]But the woman took the two men and hid them.

Then she said, "True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from. [5]And when it was time to close the gate at dark, the men went out.

Where the men went I do not know. Pursue them quickly, for you can overtake them." [6]She had, however, brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof. [7]So the men pursued them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. As soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.

[8]Before they went to sleep, she came up to them on the roof [9]and said to the men: "I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you. [10]For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. [11]As soon as we heard it, our hearts failed, and there was no courage left in any of us because of you. The LORD your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. [12]Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the LORD that you in turn will deal kindly with my family.

Give me a sign of good faith [13]that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death." [14]The men said to her, "Our life for yours! If you do not tell this business of ours, then we will deal kindly and faithfully with you when the LORD gives us the land."

Mark 1:21-27

[21]They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. [22]They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. [23]Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, [24]and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." [25]But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" [26]And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. [27]They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching - with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him."

Psalm 63:1-4

[1]   O God, you are my God, I seek you,  

          my soul thirsts for you;  

     my flesh faints for you,  

          as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  

[2]   So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,  

          beholding your power and glory.  

[3]   Because your steadfast love is better than life,  

          my lips will praise you.  

[4]   So I will bless you as long as I live;  

          I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

Psalm 84

[1] How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD of hosts!
[2] My soul longs, indeed it faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God.

[3] Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my King and my God.
[4] Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise. Selah

[5] Happy are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
[6] As they go through the valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
[7] They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

[8] O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
[9] Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed.

[10] For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than live in the tents of wickedness.
[11] For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the LORD withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
[12] O LORD of hosts,
happy is everyone who trusts in you.

Psalm 116:1-7

[1]   I love the LORD, because he has heard  

          my voice and my supplications.  

[2]   Because he inclined his ear to me,  

          therefore I will call on him as long as I live.  

[3]   The snares of death encompassed me;  

          the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;  

          I suffered distress and anguish.  

[4]   Then I called on the name of the LORD:  

          "O LORD, I pray, save my life!"

[5]   Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;  

          our God is merciful.  

[6]   The LORD protects the simple;  

          when I was brought low, he saved me.  

[7]   Return, O my soul, to your rest,  

          for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

Romans 8:31-39

[31]What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? [32]He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? [33]Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. [34]Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. [35]Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [36]As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered." [37]No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38]For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, [39]nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 62

[1]   For God alone my soul waits in silence;  

          from him comes my salvation.  

[2]   He alone is my rock and my salvation,  

          my fortress; I shall never be shaken.

[3]   How long will you assail a person,  

          will you batter your victim, all of you,  

          as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?  

[4]   Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.  

          They take pleasure in falsehood;  

     they bless with their mouths,  

          but inwardly they curse.                                           

Selah

[5]   For God alone my soul waits in silence,  

          for my hope is from him.  

[6]   He alone is my rock and my salvation,  

          my fortress; I shall not be shaken.  

[7]   On God rests my deliverance and my honor;  

          my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.

[8]   Trust in him at all times, O people;  

          pour out your heart before him;  

          God is a refuge for us.                                             

      Selah

[9]   Those of low estate are but a breath,  

          those of high estate are a delusion;  

     in the balances they go up;  

          they are together lighter than a breath.  

[10]  Put no confidence in extortion,  

          and set no vain hopes on robbery;  

          if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

[11]  Once God has spoken;  

          twice have I heard this:  

     that power belongs to God,  

[12]       and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.  

     For you repay to all  

          according to their work.