Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
This is a special song that David wrote.
He prayed this when he was in the cave.[a]
Please help me, Lord!
142 I am calling to the Lord to help me.
I ask him to be kind to me.
2 I tell him about all my problems.
I tell him about all my troubles.
3 When I do not feel brave,
you are still my guide, Lord.
In the path where I walk,
my enemies have prepared a trap to catch me.
4 Look at me!
I have no friend to help me.
There is no safe place where I can go.
Nobody thinks about me.
5 Yes Lord, I am calling to you to help me.
You are my safe place where I can hide.
You are all that I need in this world where I live.
6 Please listen to me as I cry to you.
I am very upset!
My enemies are trying to catch me.
Save me from their power!
They are stronger than I am.
7 Please take me out of this prison.[b]
Then I will praise your name.
Your own good people will see how you have helped me.
They will meet round me to praise you.
God will destroy the city of Samaria
1 These are the messages that the Lord gave to Micah.[a] Then Micah told them to the people during the times that Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah ruled the country called Judah. Micah was born in a small town called Moresheth. God showed Micah about what would happen to the cities called Samaria and Jerusalem.[b]
2 Listen, all of you people everywhere!
Hear this, everyone who lives on the earth!
The Lord God will speak against you.
You have done what is wrong. That is why he will speak against you.
He will speak from his special house.
3 Look! The Lord is leaving his place and he is coming down to the earth.
He will come to the high places (where you worship false gods).
He will destroy those places when he comes.
4 The mountains will melt when he comes,
like wax melts near a fire.
The valleys will also break into pieces.
They will move like water when it rushes down a hill.
5 All these bad things will happen because Jacob's people have refused to obey God.
These things will happen because Israel's people have done wrong things.
You may ask who has caused this.
It is the leaders in your capital cities, Samaria and Jerusalem.
They have kept the high places there for people to offer gifts to false gods.
A life that makes God happy
4 Christian friends, there are a few more things that we need to say. We have already taught you how to live in a way that pleases God. And we know that you are living in that way. Now we ask you to continue to live like that even more. On behalf of the Lord Jesus, we seriously ask you to do this. 2 You surely remember what we taught you with the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3 This is how God wants you to live: As his own people, he wants you to be completely good. So you must not have sex in a way that is wrong. 4 Each of you men must learn to rule his own body properly. Then you will do only what is pure and right. 5 People who do not know God strongly want to have sex in a wrong way. They cannot control themselves. You must not be like those people. 6 No man among you should ever have sex with the wife of a Christian friend. That would be the same as if you robbed him. It would be a bad thing to do against him. Remember that the Lord will punish everyone who does things like that. We have already told you that. We warned you very seriously about it.
7 God has chosen us to belong to him. He does not want us to do disgusting things. As his people, he wants us to be holy. 8 So do not refuse to accept what I am saying. If you do, it is not just a person that you refuse to obey. You are refusing to obey God. And God is the one who has given his Holy Spirit to you.
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