Thursday, April 30, 2020

Proverbs 11:16–31

¹⁶A kindhearted woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth.

¹⁷A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself.

¹⁸The wicked man earns deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.

¹⁹The truly righteous man attains life, but he who pursues evil goes to his death.

²⁰The LORD detests men of perverse heart but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.

²¹Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.

²²Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.

²⁴One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

²⁵A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

²⁶People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.

²⁷He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it.

²⁸Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

²⁹He who brings trouble on his family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

³¹If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!





Psalm 112

¹Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands. ²His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. ³Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. ⁴Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. ⁵Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. ⁶Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. ⁷He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. ⁸His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. ⁹He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor. ¹⁰The wicked man will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.





Hebrews 12:18–29

¹⁸You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; ¹⁹to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, ²⁰because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." ²¹The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."

²²But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, ²³to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, ²⁴to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? ²⁶At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." ²⁷The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken--that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ²⁹for our "God is a consuming fire."