Matthew 25: 31 - 40

Matthew 25:31-40

The Sheep and the Goats

    ³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
   ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

   ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

   ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’




Dear LORD, Bless, Praise, Glory, Honor and thank you for the gift of compassion and love.

I was in grade 3 when Teacher Cathecist ask us to draw what we like in the bible and I did this one. I did the reading above, motivated by the kindness of my teacher and the wisdom in it. It was a drawing contest all the while, i did not know. I won 3rd place.

The wisdom sink in me, and got hooked serving in Mary Immaculate Parish Nature Church in the Children's Choir. Then Teen Choir, then Youth Council/Cathecist, then young adult choir, then Singles For Christ, then Lingkod ng Panginoon Alabang, then Light of Jesus Valle Verde, and now actively serving Light of Jesus Feast Alabang.

I got hooked serving the needy in the Philippine National Red Cross also. Then conservation and protection of creation in Nature Awareness and Conservation Club, Inc

Lord, thank you for the gift of compassion and love.

Matthew 9:35 to 38

Matthew 9:35-38

The Workers Are Few

³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 

³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 

³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 

³⁸ Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Dear LORD, Bless, Praise, Glory, Honor and Thank you for the gift of courage. We, Eloisa, Julies and me, have a dream of bringing the Prayer and Life Workshop here in Alabang. The whole workshop is super highly recommended. We feel that we have anointing after the talk of "DO IT, afraid" by Bro. Arun Gogna. GOD will surely provide us the venue that will Glorify Him in the workshop. 

Psalm 91

Psalm 91

¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
   will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^[a]

² I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
   my God, in whom I trust.”
³ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
   and from the deadly pestilence.


⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
   and under his wings you will find refuge;
   his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.


⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
   nor the arrow that flies by day,


⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
   nor the plague that destroys at midday.


⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
   ten thousand at your right hand,
   but it will not come near you.


⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
   and see the punishment of the wicked.


⁹ If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
   and you make the Most High your dwelling,


¹⁰ no harm will overtake you,
   no disaster will come near your tent.


¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
   to guard you in all your ways;


¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
   so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.


¹³ You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
   you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴ “Because he^[b] loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
   I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.


¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
   I will be with him in trouble,
   I will deliver him and honor him.


¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
   and show him my salvation.”

Mark 1:40-45

Mark 1:40-45

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy

 ⁴⁰ A man with leprosy^[a] came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
 ⁴¹ Jesus was indignant.^[b] He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴²Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

 ⁴³ Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴ “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.


Dear LORD, Bless, Praise, Glory, Honor, and thank you for the gift of Hope and Trust.

After getting nailed yesterday and rising above my cross. I can also looked at it as pruning, but it is more obvious that I got nailed already the moment I am tasked to served (sigh). Sometimes Dear Lord, seeing the hearts of fellow servants positively too much and trusting too much failed me to see the healthy paranoia warning signs. I should have suspected the moment he asked (kulit order is the term) me to bring the brother. Did it all a waste of time, effort, money, service and love. Not at all. It hurts, his credibility on protocols sucks, but made me really wiser. Will do what would Jesus do. Jesus and John Maxwell said Forgive, but make sure not to make him hurt me again and bank on better moments.

Time to fulfill my promise to Tita Cora P and Ate Josie G to serve as Care Group Head. Wiser now, I asked Tito Chris for permission to fulfill my promise first. He is still the leader, making sure I will not get nailed. He said Yes. I love to have another batch of Joey , Ate Susan and Sheila who happens to become my Spiritual Bbf or GGF (God given friends) and happy servants.

LORD, thank you for taking care of my heart, mind and spirit.


bwa ha ha ha GOD did not gave him what he want, ROFLOL
LORD you sooooo funny.

Matthew 11: 1-6

Matthew 11:1-6

Jesus and John the Baptist

 ¹ After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.^[a]
2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples ³ to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

 ⁴ Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy^[b] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. ⁶ Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”


REFLECTION


Dear LORD, Bless, Praise, Glory, Honor and Thank you for the gift of love, wisdom and service. (what would Jesus do in my place). Trying my best to live, love and serve like Christ around my family, friends and community, I failed to factor in, that Christ  know that he will suffer and be nailed on the cross.


Now I know, just got nailed. sigh. Sad and suffering like Christ on the cross.  


Will do what Jesus did. Rise above my cross ASAP. Love more and live to the fullest. (Will learn from what happen, will be wiser, so I will not get nailed again, hopefully). Will continue to enrich all the coregifts God gave me in organizing Responsible Tours Philippines. Will love more my family and friends. And will live to the fullest in Feast Alabang and Underwater Hockey and more. 

Psalm 118

Psalm 118

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 118

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

² Let Israel say:   “His love endures forever.”
³ Let the house of Aaron say:   “His love endures forever.”
⁴ Let those who fear the LORD say:   “His love endures forever.”

⁵ When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD;
   he brought me into a spacious place.

⁶ The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
⁷ The LORD is with me; he is my helper.  I look in triumph on my enemies.

⁸ It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in humans.
⁹ It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

¹⁰ All the nations surrounded me,
   but in the name of the LORD I cut them down.
¹¹ They surrounded me on every side,
   but in the name of the LORD I cut them down.
¹² They swarmed around me like bees,
   but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;
   in the name of the LORD I cut them down.

¹³ I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me.
¹⁴ The LORD is my strength and my defense^[a];
   he has become my salvation.

¹⁵ Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous:
   “The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!
 ¹⁶ The LORD’s right hand is lifted high;
    the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!” 

¹⁷ I will not die but live,  and will proclaim what the LORD has done. 

¹⁸ The LORD has chastened me severely,
   but he has not given me over to death.


¹⁹ Open for me the gates of the righteous;
   I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
²⁰ This is the gate of the LORD
   through which the righteous may enter.
²¹ I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
   you have become my salvation.

 ²² The stone the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone;

²³ the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.

   LORD, grant us success!
²⁵ LORD, save us! 
²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. 
   From the house of the LORD we bless you.^[b] 

²⁷ The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine on us.
   With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
   up^[c] to the horns of the altar.

 ²⁸ You are my God, and I will praise you;
   you are my God, and I will exalt you.

 ²⁹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
   his love endures forever.

Mark 2: 13-17

Mark 2:13-17

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners

 ¹³ Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. ¹⁴ As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
¹⁵ While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

 ¹⁷ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”




REFLECTION


Dear LORD, Bless, Praise, Glory, Honor and Thank You for the gift of spiritual generosity. The PLW reading is the same reading for today. Jesus Christ shared   YOUR love by becoming friends first. The coaching seminar with Bro Jay Yogawin last night help us how to share blessing to others easily. Bottom line is to have a good personal loving relationship to the person we want to bless. 


I have a 2 good coach now, 1 is Tita Lellah Santiago my media ministry head, who inspire me to serve in Feast Alabang with fun and grace. She is very kind and nurturing leader also. Another is Coach Chris Ching of Citadel Underwater Hockey Club who encourage me to stay healthy, inspire me to be a good team player and good leader to bring my best in the water. And out of the water he is really a cool, fun and funny gentleman. 


Got this "Be a Blessing Card" from Light of Jesus, Feast Alabang where we will put 7 friends and family that we want to bless. LORD, please bless the friends I've listed, hopefully and faithfully our loving friendship will bring us together closer to You. 


All I ask in Might Name of JESUS Christ. Amen.

Matthew 14: 13-20

Matthew 14:13-20

Five Thousand Fed

 ¹³ Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the^[a]people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. ¹⁴ When He went ^[b]ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.
 ¹⁵ When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already ^[c]late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” ¹⁷ They *said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” ¹⁸And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” ¹⁹ Ordering the ^[d]people to ^[e]sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, ²⁰ and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets.


REFLECTIONS

Dear LORD, Bless, Praise, Glory, Honor and Thank You for the gift of spiritual care. Jesus want to be alone, to be with you LORD.

But when He saw the crowd, he was moved with compassion and heal them. May my presence be a light of compassion and healing to everybody i meet everyday. May I attend personally to the need of my guest during EcoTours and Travel Adventures with excellence like Jesus Christ. May my presences and service to Feast Alabang serve as encouragement to my fellow servant and attendees to know You more, love you and serve you in the community.

May my prayer life be like breathing air, like the beats of my heart, that with out communicating with You LORD, i will die. All I ask in mighty name of Your Son Jesus Christ. amen. 

Luke 7: 36-49

Luke 7:36-49

Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman

 ³⁶ When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ³⁷ A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. ³⁸ As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
 ³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

 ⁴⁰ Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

   “Tell me, teacher,” he said.

   ⁴¹ “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,^[a] and the other fifty. ⁴² Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

 ⁴³ Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

   “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

 ⁴⁴ Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. ⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

 ⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

 ⁴⁹ The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”




REFLECTIONS


On the Pharisee, like what is being taught by financial coaches, they will only mingle with people who are already rich and powerful. LORD, when i become rich and powerful, please bless my dream to have a home for the elders in Europe so I can raise fund for the elders here in the Philippines.

On the sinful woman, she gave her best oil, LORD please let me give my best, I know and enjoyed all of your magnificent blessings and I feel You loved, loving me the way I You created me. Oo nga naman, u don't my best, kasi it is from You also, will be at my most faithfulness and most loving instead.


She really cried big time to be forgiven.  She sincerely asked for forgiveness and will do at any cost to be forgiven. And I find her still practical using her hair to dry the oil in Jesus's feet. Mabango yun I am sure, kakapit pa ang bango sa hair nya. (kidding aside).

Luke 10: 38 - 42

Luke 10:38-42

At the Home of Martha and Mary

 ³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”  
        ⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

2 Samuel 7: 1-16

2 Samuel 7:1-16

God’s Promise to David

 ¹ After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, ² he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
³ Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.”

 ⁴ But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying:

 ⁵ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? ⁶ I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. ⁷ Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’

 ⁸ “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. ¹⁰ And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹¹ and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders^[a] over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.

   “‘The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: ¹² When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. ¹⁵ But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.


¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me^[b]; your throne will be established forever.’”

Exodus 3: 1-15

Exodus 3:1-15

Moses and the Burning Bush

 ¹ Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
⁴ When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

   And Moses said, “Here I am.”

 ⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ Then he said, “I am the God of your father,^[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

 ⁷ The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. ⁸ So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁹ And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

 ¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

 ¹² And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you^[b] will worship God on this mountain.”

 ¹³ Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

 ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.^[c] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

 ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD,^[d]the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’

   “This is my name forever,
   the name you shall call me
   from generation to generation.

1 Kings 19: 9 - 15

1 Kings 19:9-15

⁹ There he went into a cave and spent the night.

The LORD Appears to Elijah

    And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
 ¹⁰ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

 ¹¹ The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”

   Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

   Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

 ¹⁴ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

 ¹⁵ The LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.

Genesis 18: 1 - 10

Genesis 18:1-10

The Three Visitors

 ¹ The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. ² Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

 ³ He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord,^[a] do not pass your servant by. ⁴ Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. ⁵ Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”

   “Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”

 ⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs^[b] of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”

 ⁷ Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. ⁸ He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

 ⁹ “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.
   “There, in the tent,” he said.

 ¹⁰ Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

   Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.

Psalm 139

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. ¹ You have searched me, LORD,
   and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
   you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
   you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
   you, LORD, know it completely. 
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
   and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
   too lofty for me to attain.
 ⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
   Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
   if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
   your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
   and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
   the night will shine like the day,
   for darkness is as light to you.
 ¹³ For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!
   How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
   they would outnumber the grains of sand—
   when I awake, I am still with you.
 ¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
   Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;
   your adversaries misuse your name.
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
   and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
²² I have nothing but hatred for them;
   I count them my enemies.
²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
   test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
   and lead me in the way everlasting.

John 4: 5-24

John 4:5-24

New International Version (NIV)

⁵ So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
 ⁷ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
 ⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.^[a])
 ¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
 ¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
 ¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
 ¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
 ¹⁶ He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
 ¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied.
   Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
 ¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
   ²¹ “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Psalm 123

Psalm 123

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 123

A song of ascents. ¹ I lift up my eyes to you,
   to you who sit enthroned in heaven.
² As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
   as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
   till he shows us his mercy.
 ³ Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy on us,
   for we have endured no end of contempt.
⁴ We have endured no end
   of ridicule from the arrogant,
   of contempt from the proud.

Mark 6: 34-44

Mark 6:34-44

New International Version (NIV)

³⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

³⁵ By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. ³⁶ Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

 ³⁷ But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
   They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages^[a]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

   ³⁸ “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
   When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

 ³⁹ Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² They all ate and were satisfied, ⁴³ and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴ The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.