1Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good. His loving devotion endures forever. 2Give thanks to the God of gods. His loving devotion endures forever. 3Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His loving devotion endures forever. 4He alone does great wonders. His loving devotion endures forever. 5By His insight He made the heavens. His loving devotion endures forever. 6He spread out the earth upon the waters. His loving devotion endures forever. 7He made the great lights— His loving devotion endures forever. 8the sun to rule the day, His loving devotion endures forever. 9the moon and stars to govern the night. His loving devotion endures forever.
New Testament·1 Corinthians 6
1If any of you has a grievance against another, how dare he go to law before the unrighteous instead of before the saints! 2Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4So if you need to settle everyday matters, do you appoint as judges those of no standing in the church? 5I say this to your shame. Is there really no one among you wise enough to arbitrate between his brothers? 6Instead, one brother goes to law against another, and this in front of unbelievers! 7The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means that you are thoroughly defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, even against your own brothers! 9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, 10nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 12“Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything. 13“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will destroy them both. The body is not intended for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14By His power God raised the Lord from the dead, and He will raise us also. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit. 18Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
Old Testament·Job 15–17
1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: 2“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill his belly with the hot east wind? 3Should he argue with useless words or speeches that serve no purpose? 4But you even undermine the fear of God and hinder meditation before Him. 5For your iniquity instructs your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty. 6Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you; your own lips testify against you. 7Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills? 8Do you listen in on the council of God or limit wisdom to yourself? 9What do you know that we do not? What do you understand that is not clear to us? 10Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side— men much older than your father. 11Are the consolations of God not enough for you, even words spoken gently to you? 12Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash, 13as you turn your spirit against God and pour such words from your mouth? 14What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous? 15If God puts no trust in His holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes, 16how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water? 17Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen, 18what was declared by wise men and was not concealed from their fathers, 19to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them. 20A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless. 21Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him. 22He despairs of his return from darkness; he is marked for the sword. 23He wanders about as food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand. 24Distress and anguish terrify him, overwhelming him like a king poised to attack. 25For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty, 26rushing headlong at Him with a thick, studded shield. 27Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with flesh, 28he will dwell in ruined cities, in abandoned houses destined to become rubble. 29He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure. His possessions will not overspread the land. 30He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away. 31Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward. 32It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish. 33He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms. 34For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery. 35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.”
16Then Job answered: 2“I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all. 3Is there no end to your long-winded speeches? What provokes you to continue testifying? 4I could also speak like you if you were in my place; I could heap up words against you and shake my head at you. 5But I would encourage you with my mouth, and the consolation of my lips would bring relief. 6Even if I speak, my pain is not relieved, and if I hold back, how will it go away? 7Surely He has now exhausted me; You have devastated all my family. 8You have bound me, and it has become a witness; my frailty rises up and testifies against me. 9His anger has torn me and opposed me; He gnashes His teeth at me. My adversary pierces me with His eyes. 10They open their mouths against me and strike my cheeks with contempt; they join together against me. 11God has delivered me to unjust men; He has thrown me to the clutches of the wicked. 12I was at ease, but He shattered me; He seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has set me up as His target; 13His archers surround me. He pierces my kidneys without mercy and spills my gall on the ground. 14He breaks me with wound upon wound; He rushes me like a mighty warrior. 15I have sewn sackcloth over my skin; I have buried my horn in the dust. 16My face is red with weeping, and deep shadows ring my eyes; 17yet my hands are free of violence and my prayer is pure. 18O earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help never be laid to rest. 19Even now my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is on high. 20My friends are my scoffers as my eyes pour out tears to God. 21Oh, that a man might plead with God as he pleads with his neighbor! 22For when only a few years are past I will go the way of no return.
17“My spirit is broken; my days are extinguished; the grave awaits me. 2Surely mockers surround me, and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion. 3Give me, I pray, the pledge You demand. Who else will be my guarantor? 4You have closed their minds to understanding; therefore You will not exalt them. 5If a man denounces his friends for a price, the eyes of his children will fail. 6He has made me a byword among the people, a man in whose face they spit. 7My eyes have grown dim with grief, and my whole body is but a shadow. 8The upright are appalled at this, and the innocent are stirred against the godless. 9Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger. 10But come back and try again, all of you. For I will not find a wise man among you. 11My days have passed; my plans are broken off— even the desires of my heart. 12They have turned night into day, making light seem near in the face of darkness. 13If I look for Sheol as my home, if I spread out my bed in darkness, 14and say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’ 15where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me? 16Will it go down to the gates of Sheol? Will we go down together into the dust?”
Reflect
Which verse stood out most? Write it down and carry it with you today.