Wednesday, July 7, 2027

^8:2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. ³For what the law couldn’t do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ⁵For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. ⁶For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace; ⁷because the mind of the flesh is hostile toward God, for it is not subject to God’s law, neither indeed can it be. ⁸Those who are in the flesh can’t please God. ⁹But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. ¹⁰If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. ¹²So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. ¹³For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

WEB, public domain

^10:16“Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. ¹⁷But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you. ¹⁸Yes, and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the nations. ¹⁹But when they deliver you up, don’t be anxious how or what you will say, for it will be given you in that hour what you will say. ²⁰For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. ²¹“Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ²²You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved.

WEB, public domain

^1:24After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying, ²⁵“Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men.” ⁵⁷Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. ⁶⁰His mother answered, “Not so; but he will be called John.” ⁶¹They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶²They made signs to his father, what he would have him called. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John.” They all marveled. ⁶⁴His mouth was opened immediately and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing God. ⁶⁵Fear came on all who lived around them, and all these sayings were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” The hand of the Lord was with him. ⁶⁷His father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, ⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people; ⁷⁶And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, ⁸⁰The child was growing and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

WEB, public domain

^8:2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. ³For what the law couldn’t do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ⁵For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. ⁶For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace; ⁷because the mind of the flesh is hostile toward God, for it is not subject to God’s law, neither indeed can it be. ⁸Those who are in the flesh can’t please God. ⁹But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. ¹⁰If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. ¹²So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. ¹³For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

WEB, public domain

^13:11Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed. ¹²The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light. ¹³Let’s walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy. ¹⁴But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts. ^14:1Now accept one who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions. ²One man has faith to eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. ³Don’t let him who eats despise him who doesn’t eat. Don’t let him who doesn’t eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him. ⁴Who are you who judge another’s servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand.

WEB, public domain

^10:16“Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. ¹⁷But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you. ¹⁸Yes, and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the nations. ¹⁹But when they deliver you up, don’t be anxious how or what you will say, for it will be given you in that hour what you will say. ²⁰For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. ²¹“Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ²²You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved.

WEB, public domain

^1:1Since many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, ²even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us, ³it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus; ⁴that you might know the certainty concerning the things in which you were instructed. ⁵There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. ⁷But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years. ⁸Now while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his division ⁹according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. ¹³But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.” ¹⁸Zacharias said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” ¹⁹The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰Behold, you will be silent and not able to speak until the day that these things will happen, because you didn’t believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.” ²¹The people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled that he delayed in the temple. ²²When he came out, he could not speak to them. They perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute. ²³When the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house. ²⁴After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying, ²⁵“Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men.” ⁵⁷Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. ⁶⁰His mother answered, “Not so; but he will be called John.” ⁶¹They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶²They made signs to his father, what he would have him called. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John.” They all marveled. ⁶⁴His mouth was opened immediately and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing God. ⁶⁵Fear came on all who lived around them, and all these sayings were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” The hand of the Lord was with him. ⁶⁷His father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, ⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people; ⁷⁶And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, ⁸⁰The child was growing and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

WEB, public domain