Book of Common Prayer
(By David.)
Trust the Lord
1 Don't be annoyed by anyone
who does wrong,
and don't envy them.
2 They will soon disappear
like grass without rain.
3 Trust the Lord and live right!
The land will be yours,
and you will be safe.
4 Do what the Lord wants,
and he will give you
your heart's desire.
5 Let the Lord lead you
and trust him to help.
6 Then it will be as clear
as the noonday sun
that you were right.
7 Be patient and trust the Lord.
Don't let it bother you
when all goes well for those
who do sinful things.
8 Don't be angry or furious.
Anger can lead to sin.
9 All sinners will disappear,
but if you trust the Lord,
the land will be yours.
10 Sinners will soon disappear,
never to be found,
11 (A) but the poor will take the land
and enjoy a big harvest.
12 Merciless people make plots
against good people
and snarl like animals,
13 but the Lord laughs and knows
their time is coming soon.
14 The wicked kill with swords
and shoot arrows to murder
the poor and the needy
and all who do right.
15 But they will be killed
by their own swords,
and their arrows
will be broken.
16 It is better to live right
and be poor
than to be sinful and rich.
17 The wicked will lose all
of their power,
but the Lord gives strength
to everyone who is good.
18 Those who obey the Lord
are daily in his care,
and what he has given them
will be theirs forever.
19 They won't be in trouble
when times are bad,
and they will have plenty
when food is scarce.
20 Wicked people are enemies
of the Lord
and will vanish like smoke
from a field on fire.
21 An evil person borrows
and never pays back;
a good person is generous
and never stops giving.
22 Everyone the Lord blesses
will receive the land;
everyone the Lord curses
will be destroyed.
23 If you do what the Lord wants,
he will make certain
each step you take is sure.
24 The Lord will hold your hand,
and if you stumble,
you still won't fall.
25 As long as I can remember,
good people have never
been left helpless,
and their children have never
gone begging for food.
26 They gladly give and lend,
and their children
turn out good.
27 If you stop sinning
and start doing right,
you will keep living
and be secure forever.
28 The Lord loves justice,
and he won't ever desert
his faithful people.
He always protects them,
but destroys the children
of the wicked.
29 God's people will own the land
and live here forever.
30 Words of wisdom come
when good people speak
for justice.
31 They remember God's teachings,
and they never take
a wrong step.
32 The wicked try to trap
and kill good people,
33 but the Lord is on their side,
and he will defend them
when they are on trial.
34 Trust the Lord and follow him.
He will give you the land,
and you will see
the wicked destroyed.
35 I have seen brutal people
abuse others and grow strong
like trees in rich soil.[a]
36 Suddenly they disappeared!
I looked, but they were gone
and no longer there.
37 Think of the bright future
waiting for all the families
of honest, innocent,
and peace-loving people.
38 But not a trace will be left
of the wicked
or their families.
39 The Lord protects his people,
and they can come to him
in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps his people
and saves them from the wicked
because they run to him.
The Lord's Chosen People
Moses said:
6 (A) Israel, you are the chosen people of the Lord your God. There are many nations on this earth, but he chose only Israel to be his very own. 7 You were the weakest of all nations, 8 but the Lord chose you because he loves you and because he had made a promise to your ancestors. Then with his mighty arm, he rescued you from the king of Egypt, who had made you his slaves.
9 (B) You know that the Lord your God is the only true God. So love him and obey his commands, and he will faithfully keep his agreement with you and your descendants for a thousand generations. 10 But if you turn against the Lord, he will quickly destroy you. 11 So be sure to obey his laws and teachings I am giving you today.
1 From Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.
I encourage God's own people to have more faith and to understand the truth about religion. 2 Then they will have the hope of eternal life God promised long ago. And God never tells a lie! 3 So, at the proper time, God our Savior gave this message and told me to announce what he had said.
4 (A) Titus, because of our faith, you are like a son to me. I pray that God our Father and Christ Jesus our Savior will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!
What Titus Was To Do in Crete
5 I left you in Crete to do what had been left undone and to appoint leaders[a] for the churches in each town. As I told you, 6 (B) they must have a good reputation and be faithful in marriage.[b] Their children must be followers of the Lord and not have a reputation for being wild and disobedient.
7 Church officials[c] are in charge of God's work, and so they must also have a good reputation. They must not be bossy, quick-tempered, heavy drinkers, bullies, or dishonest in business. 8 Instead, they must be friendly to strangers and enjoy doing good things. They must also be sensible, fair, pure, and self-controlled. 9 They must stick to the true message they were taught, so their good teaching can help others and correct everyone who opposes it.
10 There are many who don't respect authority, and they fool others by talking nonsense. This is especially true of some Jewish followers. 11 But you must make them be quiet. They are after money, and they upset whole families by teaching what they should not. 12 It is like one of their own prophets once said,
“The people of Crete
always tell lies.
They are greedy and lazy
like wild animals.”
13 This surely is a true saying. And you should be hard on such people, so you can help them grow stronger in their faith. 14 Don't pay any attention to any of those senseless Jewish stories and human commands. These are made up by people who won't obey the truth.
15 Everything is pure for someone whose heart is pure. But nothing is pure for an unbeliever with a dirty mind. That person's mind and conscience are destroyed. 16 Such people claim to know God, but their actions prove they really don't. They are disgusting. They won't obey God, and they are too worthless to do anything good.
The Lamb of God
29 The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said:
Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 He is the one I told you about when I said, “Someone else will come, who is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born.” 31 I didn't know who he was. But I came to baptize you with water, so that everyone in Israel would see him.
32 I was there and saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven. And the Spirit stayed on him. 33 Before this I didn't know who he was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water had told me, “You will see the Spirit come down and stay on someone. Then you will know that he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” 34 I saw this happen, and I tell you that he is the Son of God.
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