Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men,

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.

Whom have I in heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize. Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable. Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air. No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another. Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.

A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.

then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation. My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.

But if they cannot control themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.

One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple.

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win those under the law. To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls. My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love.

To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.

By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received: with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; . . .

For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.

For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me face to face, that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this so that no one will deceive you by smooth rhetoric. For although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I delight to see your orderly condition and firm faith in Christ. . . .

And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her

This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.

And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen. For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

Seek out the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.

not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;

A loving doe, a graceful fawn—may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

After His suffering, He presented Himself to them with many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a span of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John,

“I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.

But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

Even zeal is no good without knowledge, and he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark.

How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! Your love is much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than all spices.

Set me as a seal over your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as unrelenting as Sheol. Its sparks are fiery flames, the fiercest blaze of all.

Mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, his offer would be utterly scorned.

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Can a man embrace fire and his clothes not be burned?

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.

Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is more delightful than wine.

So we aspire to please Him, whether we are here in this body or away from it.

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us as He spoke with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.

Receive my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire compares with her.

For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His.

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why does this concern us?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” . . .

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were puzzling over this, suddenly two men in radiant apparel stood beside them. As the women bowed their faces to the ground in terror, the two men asked them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? . . .

A man’s own folly subverts his way, yet his heart rages against the LORD.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly plague. He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, . . .

My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies.

Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints— the faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel . . .

Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him. But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will annihilate them. You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces. . . .

I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.

Of David. To You, O LORD, I call; be not deaf to me, O my Rock. For if You remain silent, I will be like those descending to the Pit. Hear my cry for mercy when I call to You for help, when I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary. Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts. Repay them according to their deeds and for their works of evil. Repay them for what their hands have done; bring back on them what they deserve. Since they show no regard for the works of the LORD or what His hands have done, He will tear them down and never rebuild them. . . .

Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.

Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense: “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews, especially since you are acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen to me patiently. Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from the earliest days of my youth, among my own people and in Jerusalem. They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion. . . .

They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by a baker who needs not stoke the fire from the kneading to the rising of the dough.

Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.

For when we lived according to the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, bearing fruit for death.