Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Habakkuk’s Question

1 This is the special word which Habakkuk the man of God saw. ² O Lord, how long must I call for help before You will hear? I cry out to You, “We are being hurt!” But You do not save us. ³ Why do you make me see sins and wrong-doing? People are being destroyed in anger in front of me. There is arguing and fighting. ⁴ The Law is not followed. What is right is never done. For the sinful are all around those who are right and good, so what is right looks like sin.

2 I will take my stand and keep watch. I will take my place on the tower. And I will keep watch to see what the Lord will say, and how I should answer when He speaks strong words to me.

The Lord’s Answer to Habakkuk

² Then the Lord answered me and said, “Write down the special dream on stone so that one may read it in a hurry. ³ For it is not yet time for it to come true. The time is coming in a hurry, and it will come true. If you think it is slow in coming, wait for it. For it will happen for sure, and it will not wait. ⁴ As for the proud one, his soul is not right in him. But the one who is right and good will live by his faith.

A Safe Place for Those Who Trust in the Lord

37 Do not trouble yourself because of sinful men. Do not want to be like those who do wrong. ² For they will soon dry up like the grass. Like the green plant they will soon die. ³ Trust in the Lord, and do good. So you will live in the land and will be fed. ⁴ Be happy in the Lord. And He will give you the desires of your heart. ⁵ Give your way over to the Lord. Trust in Him also. And He will do it. ⁶ He will make your being right and good show as the light, and your wise actions as the noon day.

⁷ Rest in the Lord and be willing to wait for Him. Do not trouble yourself when all goes well with the one who carries out his sinful plans. ⁸ Stop being angry. Turn away from fighting. Do not trouble yourself. It leads only to wrong-doing. ⁹ For those who do wrong will be cut off. But those who wait for the Lord will be given the earth.

1 This letter is from Paul, a missionary of Jesus Christ. God has sent me to tell that He has promised life that lasts forever through Christ Jesus. ² I am writing to you, Timothy. You are my much-loved son. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you His loving-favor and loving-kindness and peace.

Timothy’s Special Gift

³ I thank God for you. I pray for you night and day. I am working for God the way my early fathers worked. My heart says I am free from sin. ⁴ When I remember your tears, it makes me want to see you. That would fill me with joy. ⁵ I remember your true faith. It is the same faith your grandmother Lois had and your mother Eunice had. I am sure you have that same faith also.

⁶ For this reason, I ask you to keep using the gift God gave you. It came to you when I laid my hands on you and prayed that God would use you. ⁷ For God did not give us a spirit of fear. He gave us a spirit of power and of love and of a good mind. ⁸ Do not be ashamed to tell others about what our Lord said, or of me here in prison. I am here because of Jesus Christ. Be ready to suffer for preaching the Good News and God will give you the strength you need. ⁹ He is the One Who saved us from the punishment of sin. He is the One Who chose us to do His work. It is not because of anything we have done. But it was His plan from the beginning that He would give us His loving-favor through Christ Jesus. ¹⁰ We know about it now because of the coming of Jesus Christ, the One Who saves. He put a stop to the power of death and brought life that never dies which is seen through the Good News. ¹¹ I have been chosen to be a missionary and a preacher and a teacher of this Good News. ¹² For this reason, I am suffering. But I am not ashamed. I know the One in Whom I have put my trust. I am sure He is able to keep safe that which I have trusted to Him until the day He comes again. ¹³ Keep all the things I taught you. They were given to you in the faith and love of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ Keep safe that which He has trusted you with by the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.

⁵ The followers said to the Lord, “Give us more faith.” ⁶ The Lord said, “If your faith was as a mustard seed, you could say to this tree, ‘Be pulled out of the ground and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Jesus Teaches about Being Faithful

⁷ “What if you owned a servant who was working in the field or taking care of sheep? Would you say to him when he came in from his work, ‘Come and sit down to eat?’ ⁸ No, instead you would say, ‘Get my supper ready. Dress yourself and care for me until I am through eating and drinking. Then you can eat and drink.’ ⁹ Does the servant get thanks for doing what he was told to do? I am sure he does not. ¹⁰ It is the same with you also. When you do everything you have been told to do, you must say, ‘We are not any special servants. We have done only what we should have done.’”