Advent - Week 3 - Joy - Isaiah 11:1-9 and Ephesians 6:1-10

ISAIAH 11:1–9

¹A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, 
     and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 
²The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, 
     the spirit of wisdom and understanding, 
     the spirit of counsel and might, 
     the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 
³His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.

 

He shall not judge by what his eyes see, 
     or decide by what his ears hear; 
⁴but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, 
     and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; 
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, 
     and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 
⁵Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, 
     and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

⁶The wolf shall live with the lamb, 
     the leopard shall lie down with the kid, 
the calf and the lion and the fatling together, 
     and a little child shall lead them. 
⁷The cow and the bear shall graze, 
     their young shall lie down together; 
     and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 
⁸The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, 
     and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den. 
⁹They will not hurt or destroy 
     on all my holy mountain; 
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD 
     as the waters cover the sea.

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EPHESIANS 6:10-20

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹²For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. ¹⁵As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. ¹⁶With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 

¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. ¹⁹Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.