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     Surely God’s salvation is at hand for those that fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.

Psalm 85:9

    “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

    And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray , do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

“This, then , is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.’

Matthew 6:1-13

      I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know — God knows. And I know that this man — whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows — was caught up to paradise. He heard in expressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say.

    To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you , for  my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

     I lift up my eyes up to you, to you whose throne is in heaven

     As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy.

      Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt.

      We have endured much ridicule from the proud, much contempt from the arrogant.

Psalm 123

     He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you. As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn.Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’ And whether they listen or fail to listen — for they are a rebellious house 00 they will know that a prophet has been among them.

Ezekiel 2:1-5

     My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9

     When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him.

     A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting bettershe grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

     At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

     “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, ” and yet you can ask, ” ‘Who touched me?'”

     But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whold truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

     While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said “Why bother the teacher any more?” Ignorning what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

     He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.

     After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which meeans, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Mark 5:21-43

     But just as you excel in everything — in faith in speech in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us — see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Chris, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.”

2 Corinthians 8:7-15

     I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

     O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.

     O Lord, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit.

     Sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise his holy name.

     For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

     When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.”

     O Lord, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.

     To you, O Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy:

    “What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? 

     Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me; O Lord, be my help.

     You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 

    that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.

Psalm 30

     Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.  Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust — there may yet be hope. Let him offer to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace.  For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.

Lamentations 3:22-33