Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Day of Salvation
8 This is what the Lord says:
“There will be a special time when I show my kindness.
Then I will answer your prayers.
There will be a special day when I will save you.
Then I will help you and protect you.
And you will be the proof of my agreement with the people.
The country is destroyed now,
but you will give the land back to the people who own it.
9 You will tell the prisoners,
‘Come out of your prison!’
You will tell those who are in darkness,
‘Come out of the dark!’
The people will eat along the road,
and they will have food even on empty hills.
10 They will not be hungry or thirsty.
The hot sun and wind will not hurt them.
Their Comforter will lead them.
He will lead them by springs of water.
11 I will make a road for my people.
The mountains will be made flat,
and the low roads will be raised.
12 “Look! People are coming to me from faraway places.
They are coming to me from the north and from the west.
They are coming to me from Aswan in Egypt.”
13 Heavens and earth, be happy!
Mountains, shout with joy!
The Lord comforts his people.
He is good to his poor people.
14 But now Zion says, “The Lord has left me;
the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 But the Lord says,
“Can a woman forget her baby?
Can she forget the child who came from her body?
Even if she can forget her children,
I cannot forget you.
16 I drew a picture of you on my hand.
You are always before my eyes.[a]
A song of David for going up to the Temple.
131 Lord, I don’t feel proud.
I don’t see myself as better than others.
I am not thinking about doing great things
or reaching impossible goals.
2 No, right now I am calm and quiet,
like a child after nursing,
content in its mother’s arms.[a]
3 Israel, trust in the Lord.
Trust in him now and forever!
Apostles of Christ Jesus
4 You should think of us as servants of Christ, the ones God has trusted to do the work of making known his secret truths. 2 Those who are trusted with such an important work must show that they are worthy of that trust. 3 But I don’t consider your judgment on this point to be worth anything. Even an opinion from a court of law would mean nothing. I don’t even trust my own judgment. 4 I don’t know of any wrong I have done, but that does not make me right. The Lord is the one who must decide if I have done well or not. 5 So don’t judge anyone now. The time for judging will be when the Lord comes. He will shine light on everything that is now hidden in darkness. He will make known the secret purposes of our hearts. Then the praise each person should get will come from God.
24 “You cannot serve two masters at the same time. You will hate one and love the other, or you will be loyal to one and not care about the other. You cannot serve God and Money[a] at the same time.
Put God’s Kingdom First(A)
25 “So I tell you, don’t worry about the things you need to live—what you will eat, drink, or wear. Life is more important than food, and the body is more important than what you put on it. 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or save food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Don’t you know you are worth much more than they are? 27 You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? Look at the wildflowers in the field. See how they grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. 29 But I tell you that even Solomon, the great and rich king, was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. 30 If God makes what grows in the field so beautiful, what do you think he will do for you? It’s just grass—one day it’s alive, and the next day someone throws it into a fire. But God cares enough to make it beautiful. Surely he will do much more for you. Your faith is so small!
31 “Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. 33 What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need. 34 So don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International