Elijah goes to heaven

2 Now the Lord was going to take Elijah up to heaven in a windstorm, and Elijah and Elisha were leaving Gilgal. ² Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, because the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you live, I won’t leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

⁶ Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, because the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”

But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you live, I won’t leave you.” So both of them went on together. ⁷ Fifty members from the group of prophets also went along, but they stood at a distance. Both Elijah and Elisha stood beside the Jordan River. ⁸ Elijah then took his coat, rolled it up, and hit the water. Then the water was divided in two! Both of them crossed over on dry ground. ⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “What do you want me to do for you before I’m taken away from you?”

Elisha said, “Let me have twice your spirit.”

¹⁰ Elijah said, “You’ve made a difficult request. If you can see me when I’m taken from you, then it will be yours. If you don’t see me, it won’t happen.”

¹¹ They were walking along, talking, when suddenly a fiery chariot and fiery horses appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went to heaven in a windstorm.

¹² Elisha was watching, and he cried out, “Oh, my father, my father! Israel’s chariots and its riders!” When he could no longer see him, Elisha took hold of his clothes and ripped them in two.

Elisha succeeds Elijah

¹³ Then Elisha picked up the coat that had fallen from Elijah. He went back and stood beside the banks of the Jordan River. ¹⁴ He took the coat that had fallen from Elijah and hit the water. He said, “Where is the Lord, Elijah’s God?” And when he hit the water, it divided in two! Then Elisha crossed over.

Psalm 77

For the music leader. According to Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.

5 ¹ Christ has set us free for freedom. Therefore, stand firm and don’t submit to the bondage of slavery again.

¹³ You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only don’t let this freedom be an opportunity to indulge your selfish impulses, but serve each other through love. ¹⁴ All the Law has been fulfilled in a single statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.^{[a] 15} But if you bite and devour each other, be careful that you don’t get eaten up by each other!

Two different ways of living

¹⁶ I say be guided by the Spirit and you won’t carry out your selfish desires. ¹⁷ A person’s selfish desires are set against the Spirit, and the Spirit is set against one’s selfish desires. They are opposed to each other, so you shouldn’t do whatever you want to do. ¹⁸ But if you are being led by the Spirit, you aren’t under the Law. ¹⁹ The actions that are produced by selfish motives are obvious, since they include sexual immorality, moral corruption, doing whatever feels good, ²⁰ idolatry, drug use and casting spells, hate, fighting, obsession, losing your temper, competitive opposition, conflict, selfishness, group rivalry, ²¹ jealousy, drunkenness, partying, and other things like that. I warn you as I have already warned you, that those who do these kinds of things won’t inherit God’s kingdom.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against things like this. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the self with its passions and its desires.

²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit.

Jesus sets out for Jerusalem

⁵¹ As the time approached when Jesus was to be taken up into heaven, he determined to go to Jerusalem. ⁵² He sent messengers on ahead of him. Along the way, they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival, ⁵³ but the Samaritan villagers refused to welcome him because he was determined to go to Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to consume them?” ⁵⁵ But Jesus turned and spoke sternly to them, ⁵⁶ and they went on to another village.

Following Jesus

⁵⁷ As Jesus and his disciples traveled along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Human One^[a] has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹ Then Jesus said to someone else, “Follow me.”

He replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. But you go and spread the news of God’s kingdom.”

⁶¹ Someone else said to Jesus, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say good-bye to those in my house.”

⁶² Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand on the plow and looks back is fit for God’s kingdom.”