¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the desert of Damascus. When you get there, set apart Hazael to be the king of Syria. ¹⁶ Set apart Nimshi’s son Jehu to be the king of Israel. And set apart Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah to speak for God in your place.

God Calls Elisha

¹⁹ So Elijah left there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat. Elisha was plowing with twenty-four bulls, and was with the last two. Elijah passed by him and threw his coat on him. ²⁰ And he left the bulls and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and mother. Then I will follow you.” And Elijah said to him, “Return. For what have I done to you?” ²¹ So Elisha returned from following him. He took his two bulls and killed them. Then he boiled their flesh over a fire, burning the wood cross-pieces the bulls used to pull the load. And he gave the meat to the people, and they ate. Then Elisha got up and followed Elijah and served him.

The Lord—Our Safe Place in Life and Covering in Death

16 Keep me, O God, for I am safe in You. ² I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord. All the good things I have come from You.” ³ As for those in the land who belong to You, they are the great ones in whom is all my joy. ⁴ Those who have traded for another god bring many troubles on themselves. I will not take part in their altar gifts of blood. And I will not take their names upon my lips.

⁵ The Lord is all that I am to receive, and my cup. My future is in Your hands. ⁶ The land given to me is good. Yes, my share is beautiful to me.

⁷ I will give honor and thanks to the Lord, Who has told me what to do. Yes, even at night my mind teaches me. ⁸ I have placed the Lord always in front of me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be moved. ⁹ And so my heart is glad. My soul is full of joy. My body also will rest without fear. ¹⁰ For You will not give me over to the grave. And You will not allow Your Holy One to return to dust. ¹¹ You will show me the way of life. Being with You is to be full of joy. In Your right hand there is happiness forever.

Christ Made Us Free

5 Christ made us free. Stay that way. Do not get chained all over again in the Law and its kind of religious worship.

¹³ Christian brother, you were chosen to be free. Be careful that you do not please your old selves by sinning because you are free. Live this free life by loving and helping others. ¹⁴ You obey the whole Law when you do this one thing, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” ^{(A) 15} But if you hurt and make it hard for each other, watch out or you may be destroyed by each other.

¹⁶ I say this to you: Let the Holy Spirit lead you in each step. Then you will not please your sinful old selves. ¹⁷ The things our old selves want to do are against what the Holy Spirit wants. The Holy Spirit does not agree with what our sinful old selves want. These two are against each other. So you cannot do what you want to do. ¹⁸ If you let the Holy Spirit lead you, the Law no longer has power over you. ¹⁹ The things your sinful old self wants to do are: sex sins, sinful desires, wild living, ²⁰ worshiping false gods, witchcraft, hating, fighting, being jealous, being angry, arguing, dividing into little groups and thinking the other groups are wrong, false teaching, ²¹ wanting something someone else has, killing other people, using strong drink, wild parties, and all things like these. I told you before and I am telling you again that those who do these things will have no place in the holy nation of God. ²² But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith, ²³ being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things. ²⁴ Those of us who belong to Christ have nailed our sinful old selves on His cross. Our sinful desires are now dead.

²⁵ If the Holy Spirit is living in us, let us be led by Him in all things.

Jesus and His Followers Leave Galilee

⁵¹ It was about time for Jesus to be taken up into heaven. He turned toward Jerusalem and was sure that nothing would stop Him from going. ⁵² He sent men on ahead of Him. They came to a town in Samaria. There they got things ready for Jesus. ⁵³ The people did not want Him there because they knew He was on His way to Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ James and John, His followers, saw this. They said, “Lord, do You want us to speak so fire will come down from heaven and burn them up as Elijah did?” ⁵⁵ Jesus turned and spoke sharp words to them. (*He said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you have. ⁵⁶ The Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives. He came to save them from the punishment of sin.” They went on their way to another town.)

The Testing of Some Followers ^(A)

⁵⁷ As they were going on their way, a man said to Jesus, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” ⁵⁸ Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes. Birds of the sky have nests. The Son of Man has no place to put His head.” ⁵⁹ He said to another, “Follow Me.” But the man said, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the people who are dead bury their own dead. You go and preach about the holy nation of God.” ⁶¹ And another one said, “Lord, I will follow You, but first let me go and say good-bye to those at home.” ⁶² Jesus said to him, “Anyone who puts his hand on a plow and looks back at the things behind is of no use in the holy nation of God.”