By
Riqui Ricón*
But be doers of the word,
and not hearers
only, deceiving yourselves. (James
1:22, KJV)
There is a big difference between being a
simple spectator of life or being a protagonist; between being a maker of history or being a mere participant in circumstances.
Of course, someone might say: I am not a
pastor, nor a preacher, nor an evangelist to do great things for God; I am just a humble church
member. The point is, if
being a church member means attending a couple of times a week to hear the Word
of God, participating in some ministry, and living a secular life without any
real change or impact on others, then you are neglecting the salvation (the fullness
of Life) that Jesus gave you.
The thief cometh not, but for to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
(John 10:10, KJV)
If you limit yourself to hearing the Word of God and do not act according
to it, then you are deceiving
yourself and frustrating God's plan for your life. Think about it: if
God wanted you to be a spectator, He would
not have you living at this point in history, where poverty,
violence, immorality, sickness, and wickedness grow day by day.
Ye are the light of the world. A
city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and
put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that
are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which
is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16, KJV)
Never before in human history
has the manifestation of the Sons of God been
so urgently needed in this world.
For the earnest expectation of the creature
waiteth for the manifestation of the
sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by
reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because
the creature itself also shall be delivered from the
bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (Romans
8:19-21, KJV)
How do you become a doer of the Word? By believing
it as if it were the Word of God, which in Truth it is.
The most important
action you must take to be a doer of the Word is making the decision to believe God, believing His Word,
and living according to what you believe. The rest will no
longer depend on what you do for Him, but on what He HAS ALREADY done for you.
Now it depends on what you ALREADY ARE according to His Word: a BORN AGAIN
Child of God, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed by the Word of
God, which lives and abides forever.
But whoso looketh into the perfect
law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the
work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (James
1:25, KJV)
The Bible, the Word of God, which cannot lie, is the Perfect Law, the Law of
Liberty; and if you govern your life according to it, you
are blessed—that is, Blessed by God and, therefore, a
thousand times happy.
So, look at yourself as God sees you. Look at yourself
through the mirror that
His Word is.
Joshua, like you, lived in an exciting
and challenging time. He had to lead the
people of Israel into the promised land, and to achieve this, he received the
following instruction from God:
This book of the law shall not depart out of
thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou
mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou
shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong
and of a good courage; be not
afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (Joshua
1:8-9, KJV)
To live according to the Bible is to make
history; it is daring to live an exciting and challenging life. Being a doer of
the Word means believing God and living out what He says about you. It is stopping
to look at your limitations and flaws to believe
and act according to the person God says you now are.
So, beloved, believe
it, receive it, and live it!
But be doers of the word,
and not hearers
only, deceiving yourselves. (James
1:22, KJV)
There is a big difference between being a
simple spectator of life or being a protagonist; between being a maker of history or being a mere participant in circumstances.
Of course, someone might say: I am not a
pastor, nor a preacher, nor an evangelist to do great things for God; I am just a humble church
member. The point is, if
being a church member means attending a couple of times a week to hear the Word
of God, participating in some ministry, and living a secular life without any
real change or impact on others, then you are neglecting the salvation (the fullness
of Life) that Jesus gave you.
The thief cometh not, but for to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
(John 10:10, KJV)
If you limit yourself to hearing the Word of God and do not act according
to it, then you are deceiving
yourself and frustrating God's plan for your life. Think about it: if
God wanted you to be a spectator, He would
not have you living at this point in history, where poverty,
violence, immorality, sickness, and wickedness grow day by day.
Ye are the light of the world. A
city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and
put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that
are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which
is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16, KJV)
Never before in human history
has the manifestation of the Sons of God been
so urgently needed in this world.
For the earnest expectation of the creature
waiteth for the manifestation of the
sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by
reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because
the creature itself also shall be delivered from the
bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (Romans
8:19-21, KJV)
How do you become a doer of the Word? By believing
it as if it were the Word of God, which in Truth it is.
The most important
action you must take to be a doer of the Word is making the decision to believe God, believing His Word,
and living according to what you believe. The rest will no
longer depend on what you do for Him, but on what He HAS ALREADY done for you.
Now it depends on what you ALREADY ARE according to His Word: a BORN AGAIN
Child of God, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed by the Word of
God, which lives and abides forever.
But whoso looketh into the perfect
law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the
work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (James
1:25, KJV)
The Bible, the Word of God, which cannot lie, is the Perfect Law, the Law of
Liberty; and if you govern your life according to it, you
are blessed—that is, Blessed by God and, therefore, a
thousand times happy.
So, look at yourself as God sees you. Look at yourself
through the mirror that
His Word is.
Joshua, like you, lived in an exciting
and challenging time. He had to lead the
people of Israel into the promised land, and to achieve this, he received the
following instruction from God:
This book of the law shall not depart out of
thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou
mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou
shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong
and of a good courage; be not
afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (Joshua
1:8-9, KJV)
To live according to the Bible is to make
history; it is daring to live an exciting and challenging life. Being a doer of
the Word means believing God and living out what He says about you. It is stopping
to look at your limitations and flaws to believe
and act according to the person God says you now are.
So, beloved, believe
it, receive it, and live it!
Let’s pray out loud:
Beloved Heavenly Father,
I know that Your Word, the Bible, is the Truth, and that is why today I can declare with
all certainty that I
(your name here):
· Have the power of the Holy Spirit to be an effective witness
of Jesus Christ. (Acts 1:8, KJV)
·
Can do ALL things through
Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13, KJV)
· Am of God and have already
overcome because greater
is He that IS IN ME
than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4, KJV)
· In ALL things am more than a conqueror
through Him that loves me, Christ
Jesus. (Romans 8:37, KJV)
· Have not received a spirit of bondage again to fear, but I have received
the spirit of adoption and I can call God Papa, Father. (Romans 8:15,
KJV)
·
Am loved so much by God that He has called me His Child.
(1 John 3:1, KJV)
· A thousand
shall fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand; but it
shall not come nigh me. (Psalm 91:7, KJV)
· Even
though I walk through dark and shadowy paths, I will fear no evil. For You,
Lord, are with me; Your rod and Your staff comfort me. You prepare a table
before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely Your goodness
and faithful love will follow
me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. (Psalm
23:4-6, KJV)
· Surely, You, Lord Jesus,
bore all my sicknesses and carried my pains, and by
Your stripes I have already been healed.
Thank You for all of this,
Lord Jesus! I will not fear, but believe. Therefore, I am going to manifest each and every one of Your promises
in my life. So, without
a doubt, Heavenly Father, I (your
name here): Am healed! Am free! Am prosperous! Am joyful! Am a Born Again Child
of God! In Jesus' name. Amen.
Beloved Heavenly Father,
I know that Your Word, the Bible, is the Truth, and that is why today I can declare with
all certainty that I
(your name here):
· Have the power of the Holy Spirit to be an effective witness
of Jesus Christ. (Acts 1:8, KJV)
·
Can do ALL things through
Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13, KJV)
· Am of God and have already
overcome because greater
is He that IS IN ME
than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4, KJV)
· In ALL things am more than a conqueror
through Him that loves me, Christ
Jesus. (Romans 8:37, KJV)
· Have not received a spirit of bondage again to fear, but I have received
the spirit of adoption and I can call God Papa, Father. (Romans 8:15,
KJV)
·
Am loved so much by God that He has called me His Child.
(1 John 3:1, KJV)
· A thousand
shall fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand; but it
shall not come nigh me. (Psalm 91:7, KJV)
· Even
though I walk through dark and shadowy paths, I will fear no evil. For You,
Lord, are with me; Your rod and Your staff comfort me. You prepare a table
before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely Your goodness
and faithful love will follow
me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. (Psalm
23:4-6, KJV)
· Surely, You, Lord Jesus,
bore all my sicknesses and carried my pains, and by
Your stripes I have already been healed.
Thank You for all of this,
Lord Jesus! I will not fear, but believe. Therefore, I am going to manifest each and every one of Your promises
in my life. So, without
a doubt, Heavenly Father, I (your
name here): Am healed! Am free! Am prosperous! Am joyful! Am a Born Again Child
of God! In Jesus' name. Amen.
Important Note:
How do I become
a Child of God? How do I establish
a relationship with the Almighty? Just pray the following prayer out loud, putting all your attention and heart into what you are
saying to God:
Lord Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of God. That You came into this world through the Virgin Mary to pay for
all my sins, and I have been a sinner.
Therefore, I say to You today that yes, I
accept. Yes, I accept Your sacrifice on the cross! Yes, I accept Your precious
Blood shed down to the very last drop out of Love for me! I open my heart
to You and invite You to come in, because
I want You, Lord Jesus, from today and forever to be my only and
sufficient Savior, my God, my King, and my Lord. Thank You, Mighty God, because
with this simple prayer and profession of faith I have passed from death to
Life, I have been transferred from darkness into Your marvelous Light. Today I
am Born Again! God, now I Am Your Child! Now You are my Father! I will never be
alone again! I will never live defeated again. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Important Note:
How do I become a Child of God? How do I establish a relationship with the
Almighty?
Just say the following prayer
aloud, putting all your attention
and heart into what you are saying to God:
Lord Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of
God. That You came into this world, born
of the virgin Mary, to pay for all my sins, and I have
been a sinner. Therefore, today I say that I accept. I accept Your
sacrifice on the cross! I accept Your precious
Blood shed to the last drop out of love for me! I open my
heart to You and invite You in
because I want, Lord Jesus, that from today and
forever You be my only and sufficient Savior, my God,
my King, and my Lord. Thank
You, Almighty God, because with this simple prayer and profession of faith I have passed from death to Life, I have been transferred from darkness to Your
marvelous Light. Today I have been Born Again! God, now I am Your Child! Now
You are my Father! I will never be alone again! I will never live defeated
again. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
How do I become
a Child of God? How do I establish
a relationship with the Almighty? Just pray the following prayer out loud, putting all your attention and heart into what you are
saying to God:
Lord Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of God. That You came into this world through the Virgin Mary to pay for
all my sins, and I have been a sinner.
Therefore, I say to You today that yes, I
accept. Yes, I accept Your sacrifice on the cross! Yes, I accept Your precious
Blood shed down to the very last drop out of Love for me! I open my heart
to You and invite You to come in, because
I want You, Lord Jesus, from today and forever to be my only and
sufficient Savior, my God, my King, and my Lord. Thank You, Mighty God, because
with this simple prayer and profession of faith I have passed from death to
Life, I have been transferred from darkness into Your marvelous Light. Today I
am Born Again! God, now I Am Your Child! Now You are my Father! I will never be
alone again! I will never live defeated again. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Important Note:
How do I become a Child of God? How do I establish a relationship with the
Almighty?
Just say the following prayer
aloud, putting all your attention
and heart into what you are saying to God:
Lord Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of
God. That You came into this world, born
of the virgin Mary, to pay for all my sins, and I have
been a sinner. Therefore, today I say that I accept. I accept Your
sacrifice on the cross! I accept Your precious
Blood shed to the last drop out of love for me! I open my
heart to You and invite You in
because I want, Lord Jesus, that from today and
forever You be my only and sufficient Savior, my God,
my King, and my Lord. Thank
You, Almighty God, because with this simple prayer and profession of faith I have passed from death to Life, I have been transferred from darkness to Your
marvelous Light. Today I have been Born Again! God, now I am Your Child! Now
You are my Father! I will never be alone again! I will never live defeated
again. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Three Recommendations:
What just happened by you recognizing Jesus Christ as the Lord and
Savior of your life, according
to God's Word, is that you have been Born Again. No longer
as an ordinary human being, subject to the law of sin and death, but now as a
legitimate and authentic Child of God, Born Again, exactly like Jesus Christ, who is now your Older Brother. Therefore,
I give you these three, very important, recommendations:
1.
Pray. Praying is talking with God. So, find a quiet
place where you can begin talking to Him about everything. Do it out loud, and you will notice
how God always responds to your heart.
2.
Read and meditate
on the Word of God. The Bible
is the Word of God, so
get a Bible and start reading and meditating on it. How do you begin? It’s very simple. Depending on the day,
look up the reading program “The
Bible in One Year” and do the corresponding readings. You can get this program at: Through The Bible In One Year (palabradehonor.org). You will notice
that the program is set up so you can print it as a booklet.
3. In prayer with
God, your Father, look for and join a Christian church or congregation where
the Word of God is taught based
on the Good News, which are
the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Ricardo C. Peredo Jaime © 2020
What just happened by you recognizing Jesus Christ as the Lord and
Savior of your life, according
to God's Word, is that you have been Born Again. No longer
as an ordinary human being, subject to the law of sin and death, but now as a
legitimate and authentic Child of God, Born Again, exactly like Jesus Christ, who is now your Older Brother. Therefore,
I give you these three, very important, recommendations:
1.
Pray. Praying is talking with God. So, find a quiet
place where you can begin talking to Him about everything. Do it out loud, and you will notice
how God always responds to your heart.
2.
Read and meditate
on the Word of God. The Bible
is the Word of God, so
get a Bible and start reading and meditating on it. How do you begin? It’s very simple. Depending on the day,
look up the reading program “The
Bible in One Year” and do the corresponding readings. You can get this program at: Through The Bible In One Year (palabradehonor.org). You will notice
that the program is set up so you can print it as a booklet.
3. In prayer with
God, your Father, look for and join a Christian church or congregation where
the Word of God is taught based
on the Good News, which are
the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Ricardo C. Peredo Jaime © 2020
Reading and Meditation on the Word of God
Do these daily readings, and by the end of one year you will have read the
entire Bible.
Do these daily readings, and by the end of one year you will have read the
entire Bible.
November 13 James 1 / Jeremiah 21-22
/ Psalm 129
James
1 James, a servant
of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes
which are scattered abroad, greeting.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers
temptations;
3 Knowing
this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience
have her perfect
work, that ye may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it
shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering. For he that wavereth
is like a wave
of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded
man is unstable in all his ways.
9 Let the brother
of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:
10 But the rich,
in that he is made low: because
as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass,
and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth:
so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
12 Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised
to them that love him.
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted
of God: for God cannot be
tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted,
when he is drawn away of his own lust, and
enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth
sin: and sin, when it is
finished, bringeth forth death.
16 Do not err, my beloved
brethren.
17 Every
good gift and every perfect
gift is from above, and cometh down from
the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should
be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive
with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own
selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth
his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh
into the perfect
law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being
not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in
his deed.
26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue,
but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
27 Pure
religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the
fatherless and widows
in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
Jeremiah
21 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD,
when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah
the priest, saying,
2 Enquire,
I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against
us; if so be that the
LORD
will deal with us according to all his wondrous
works, that he may go up from us.
3 Then said Jeremiah
unto them, Thus shall ye say to
Zedekiah:
4 Thus saith the LORD God of Israel;
Behold, I will turn back the weapons
of war that are in your hands,
wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans,
which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of
this city.
5 And I myself
will fight against
you with an outstretched hand and with a
strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.
6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast:
they shall die of a great pestilence.
7 And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver
Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left
in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from
the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their
enemies, and into the hand of those that seek
their life: and he shall
smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor
have mercy.
8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the
LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of
death.
9 He that
abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth
to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life
shall be unto him for a prey.
10 For I have
set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall
be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall
burn it with fire.
11 And touching the house of the king of Judah,
say, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
12 O house of David,
thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment
in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can
quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
13 Behold, I
am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the LORD; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
14 But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith
the LORD: and
I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things
round about it.
22 Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
2 And say,
Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that
sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people
that enter in by these gates:
3 Thus
saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and
deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no
violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
4 For if ye
do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his
people.
5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the
LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.
6 For thus saith
the LORD unto the king's house
of Judah; Thou art Gilead
unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a
wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.
7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons:
and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.
8 And many nations
shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?
9 Then they shall answer, Because
they have forsaken
the covenant of the
LORD
their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither
bemoan him: but weep sore for him that
goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.
11 For thus
saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of
Judah, which reigned instead
of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any
more:
12 But he shall die in the place
whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
13 Woe unto
him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong;
that useth his neighbour's service
without wages, and giveth him not
for his work;
14 That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with
cedar, and painted with vermilion.
15 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself
in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and
justice, and then it was well with him?
16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.
17 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for
oppression, and for violence, to do it.
18 Therefore
thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king
of Judah; They shall not lament
for him, saying,
Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah
lord! or, Ah his glory!
19 He shall be buried with the burial
of an ass, drawn and cast forth
beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan,
and cry from the passages:
for all thy lovers are destroyed.
21 I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst,
I will not hear. This hath
been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.
22 The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers
shall go into captivity:
surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.
23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy
nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
24 As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah
the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand,
yet would I pluck thee thence;
25 And I
will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother
that bare thee, into another
country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.
27 But to the land whereunto
they desire to return, thither
shall they not return.
28 Is this
man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land
which they know not?
29 O earth, earth,
earth, hear the word of the LORD.
30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper
in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of
David, and ruling any more in Judah.
Psalm
129 Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:
2 Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not
prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed
upon my back:
they made long their furrows.
4 The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.
5 Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.
6 Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it
groweth up:
7 Wherewith the mower filleth
not his hand; nor he that bindeth
sheaves his bosom.
8 Neither
do they which go by say, The blessing of the
LORD
be upon you: we
bless you in the name of the LORD.
James
1 James, a servant
of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes
which are scattered abroad, greeting.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers
temptations;
3 Knowing
this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience
have her perfect
work, that ye may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it
shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering. For he that wavereth
is like a wave
of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded
man is unstable in all his ways.
9 Let the brother
of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:
10 But the rich,
in that he is made low: because
as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass,
and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth:
so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
12 Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised
to them that love him.
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted
of God: for God cannot be
tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted,
when he is drawn away of his own lust, and
enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth
sin: and sin, when it is
finished, bringeth forth death.
16 Do not err, my beloved
brethren.
17 Every
good gift and every perfect
gift is from above, and cometh down from
the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should
be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive
with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own
selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth
his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh
into the perfect
law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being
not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in
his deed.
26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue,
but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
27 Pure
religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the
fatherless and widows
in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
Jeremiah
21 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD,
when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah
the priest, saying,
2 Enquire,
I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against
us; if so be that the
LORD
will deal with us according to all his wondrous
works, that he may go up from us.
3 Then said Jeremiah
unto them, Thus shall ye say to
Zedekiah:
4 Thus saith the LORD God of Israel;
Behold, I will turn back the weapons
of war that are in your hands,
wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans,
which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of
this city.
5 And I myself
will fight against
you with an outstretched hand and with a
strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.
6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast:
they shall die of a great pestilence.
7 And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver
Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left
in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from
the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their
enemies, and into the hand of those that seek
their life: and he shall
smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor
have mercy.
8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the
LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of
death.
9 He that
abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth
to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life
shall be unto him for a prey.
10 For I have
set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall
be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall
burn it with fire.
11 And touching the house of the king of Judah,
say, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
12 O house of David,
thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment
in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can
quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
13 Behold, I
am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the LORD; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
14 But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith
the LORD: and
I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things
round about it.
22 Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
2 And say,
Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that
sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people
that enter in by these gates:
3 Thus
saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and
deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no
violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
4 For if ye
do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his
people.
5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the
LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.
6 For thus saith
the LORD unto the king's house
of Judah; Thou art Gilead
unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a
wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.
7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons:
and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.
8 And many nations
shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?
9 Then they shall answer, Because
they have forsaken
the covenant of the
LORD
their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither
bemoan him: but weep sore for him that
goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.
11 For thus
saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of
Judah, which reigned instead
of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any
more:
12 But he shall die in the place
whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
13 Woe unto
him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong;
that useth his neighbour's service
without wages, and giveth him not
for his work;
14 That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with
cedar, and painted with vermilion.
15 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself
in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and
justice, and then it was well with him?
16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.
17 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for
oppression, and for violence, to do it.
18 Therefore
thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king
of Judah; They shall not lament
for him, saying,
Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah
lord! or, Ah his glory!
19 He shall be buried with the burial
of an ass, drawn and cast forth
beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan,
and cry from the passages:
for all thy lovers are destroyed.
21 I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst,
I will not hear. This hath
been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.
22 The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers
shall go into captivity:
surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.
23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy
nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
24 As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah
the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand,
yet would I pluck thee thence;
25 And I
will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother
that bare thee, into another
country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.
27 But to the land whereunto
they desire to return, thither
shall they not return.
28 Is this
man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land
which they know not?
29 O earth, earth,
earth, hear the word of the LORD.
30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper
in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of
David, and ruling any more in Judah.
Psalm
129 Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:
2 Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not
prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed
upon my back:
they made long their furrows.
4 The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.
5 Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.
6 Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it
groweth up:
7 Wherewith the mower filleth
not his hand; nor he that bindeth
sheaves his bosom.
8 Neither
do they which go by say, The blessing of the
LORD
be upon you: we
bless you in the name of the LORD.
