Daily Dose

February 4, 2021

Psalms 147:1-11 NIV

Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the LORD with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp. He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

NIV: New International Version

Proverbs 12:10-21

A [consistently] righteous man regards the life of his beast, but even the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. [Deut. 25:4.] He who tills his land shall be satisfied with bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits is lacking in sense and is without understanding. The wicked desire the booty of evil men, but the root of the [uncompromisingly] righteous yields [richer fruitage]. The wicked is [dangerously] snared by the transgression of his lips, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall come out of trouble. From the fruit of his words a man shall be satisfied with good, and the work of a man’s hands shall come back to him [as a harvest]. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who listens to counsel is wise. [Prov. 3:7; 9:9; 21:2.] A fool’s wrath is quickly and openly known, but a prudent man ignores an insult. He who breathes out truth shows forth righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), but a false witness utters deceit. There are those who speak rashly, like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is [credited] but for a moment. Deceit is in the hearts of those who devise evil, but for the counselors of peace there is joy. No [actual] evil, misfortune, or calamity shall come upon the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil, misfortune, and calamity.

Galatians 5:2-15 NIV

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

NIV: New International Version