Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
9 And the Lord your God will bring much good upon all the work you do, and upon your children, and the young of your cattle, and the food of your field. For the Lord will again be happy to bring good to you, just as He was happy with your fathers. 10 But you must obey the Lord your God to keep His Laws which are written in this book of the Law. You must turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.
Life or Death
11 “For this Law I give you today is not too hard for you, or too far from you. 12 It is not in heaven. You do not need to say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it down to make us hear it, so we may obey it?’ 13 It is not farther than the sea. You do not need to say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us and bring it to us to make us hear it, so we may obey it?’ 14 But the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may obey it.
Prayer to Be Kept Safe from Enemies
25 I lift up my soul to You, O Lord. 2 O my God, I trust in You. Do not let me be ashamed. Do not let those who fight against me win. 3 Yes, let no one who hopes in You be put to shame. But put to shame those who hurt others without a reason.
4 Show me Your ways, O Lord. Teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me. For You are the God Who saves me. I wait for You all day long. 6 Remember Your loving-pity and Your loving-kindness, O Lord. For they have been from old. 7 Do not remember my sins from when I was young, or my sinful ways. By Your loving-kindness remember me for You are good, O Lord.
8 Good and right is the Lord. So He teaches sinners in His ways. 9 He leads those without pride into what is right, and teaches them His way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are loving and true for those who keep His agreement and keep His Laws.
Paul Gives Thanks for the Christians in Colossae
1 This letter is from Paul, a missionary for Jesus Christ. God wanted me to work for Him. This letter is from brother Timothy also. 2 I am writing to you who belong to Christ in the city of Colossae. May all the Christian brothers there have loving-favor and peace from God our Father.
3 We always pray and give thanks to God for you. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 We give thanks to God for you because we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus. We thank God for your love for all those who belong to Christ. 5 We thank God for the hope that is being kept for you in heaven. You first heard about this hope through the Good News which is the Word of Truth. 6 The Good News came to you the same as it is now going out to all the world. Lives are being changed, just as your life was changed the day you heard the Good News. You understood the truth about God’s loving-kindness. 7 You heard the Good News through our much-loved brother Epaphras who is taking my place. He is a faithful servant of Christ. 8 He told us that the Holy Spirit had given you much love.
9 This is why I have never stopped praying for you since I heard about you. I ask God that you may know what He wants you to do. I ask God to fill you with the wisdom and understanding the Holy Spirit gives. 10 Then your lives will please the Lord. You will do every kind of good work, and you will know more about God. 11 I pray that God’s great power will make you strong, and that you will have joy as you wait and do not give up. 12 I pray that you will be giving thanks to the Father. He has made it so you could share the good things given to those who belong to Christ who are in the light. 13 God took us out of a life of darkness. He has put us in the holy nation of His much-loved Son. 14 We have been bought by His blood and made free. Our sins are forgiven through Him.
Jesus Talks to the Man Who Knew the Law
25 A man stood up who knew the Law and tried to trap Jesus. He said, “Teacher, what must I do to have life that lasts forever?” 26 Jesus said to him, “What is written in the Law? What does the Law say?” 27 The man said, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart. You must love Him with all your soul. You must love Him with all your strength. You must love Him with all your mind. You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.” 28 Jesus said to him, “You have said the right thing. Do this and you will have life.” 29 The man tried to make himself look good. He asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
The Picture-Story of the Good Samaritan
30 Jesus said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to the city of Jericho. Robbers came out after him. They took his clothes off and beat him. Then they went away, leaving him almost dead. 31 A religious leader was walking down that road and saw the man. But he went by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a man from the family group of Levi was walking down that road. When he saw the man who was hurt, he came near to him but kept on going on the other side of the road. 33 Then a man from the country of Samaria came by. He went up to the man. As he saw him, he had loving-pity on him. 34 He got down and put oil and wine on the places where he was hurt and put cloth around them. Then the man from Samaria put this man on his own donkey. He took him to a place where people stay for the night and cared for him. 35 The next day the man from Samaria was ready to leave. He gave the owner of that place two pieces of money to care for him. He said to him, ‘Take care of this man. If you use more than this, I will give it to you when I come again.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was beaten by the robbers?” 37 The man who knew the Law said, “The one who showed loving-pity on him.” Then Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”
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